Dear JournalSweets
by Bryn Elizabeth
Summary: Lily Catherine was a foster child who came to the Jeffersonian to do a report. She found the medico-legal lab by mistake, but everyone's life changed. Now she's Brennan's foster child with a lot of help from Booth and Parker. Sweets wants her to journal.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize. Just Lily.

A/N: This is one of my favorites. Yeah, I know, another new character. Anyway, Lily's awesome. Will you tell me if you think she's awesome? Leave a review and she'll write more, faster!

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Well, you got me this journal; so I figure I might as well use it. You say it will help us in our therapy sessions, but not to write it to you… oops. Anyway, you said to just write in it like a journal. That shouldn't be a problem. According to Angela, I am a born writer, which is what brought me here, to the Jeffersonian, in the first place. _

_You know my story, but whatever. If I weren't writing this to you, Sweets, then I'd include my story. So I'm going to._

_My name is Lily Catherine Rivers and I'm thirteen years old. I've been in the foster system since birth, you know, passed from home to home, like Brennan was. I came to the Jeffersonian to work on a school project, and I guess I just stuck around. My foster mom didn't care._

_And when that foster mom didn't want to take care of me anymore, the lovely, spontaneous and slightly strange Dr. Temperance Brennan busts out the fact that she's a licensed foster parent and takes custody of me. _

_Technically, _she's _my legal guardian, but I spend a lot of time with her FBI partner, Booth, because his son, Parker, and I get along very well. He's like my little brother._

_So, now I'm writing this for our lovely therapy sessions. _

_Anyway, I got my report card today. All A's, which is awesome, because normally there are a few B's as well. But, I did work extra hard this time, so no one would be disappointed. _

_I didn't expect my grades to be a big deal. None of my other foster parents cared. Booth must've been paying attention to the school calendar, though, because when I got to Booth's to spend the weekend with him and Parker, he asked to see it. He got all excited when he saw my grades and called Brennan. We went out to dinner at my favorite little Italian restaurant, like a family. _

_Probably the best thing that could ever happen to me- to all of us, actually- is if Booth and Brennan got married and the four of us became a real family. But, Sweets, you can't say anything about that. _Nothing.

_Well, now my report card is decorating the refrigerator, which contains to go boxes of spaghetti. Yummy. _

_As I write this, I'm laying in the top bunk above Parker. He's out like a light, and quite adorable. Brennan and Booth are watching a movie and talking. I'm assuming I'm their discussion topic, because I keep hearing "Lils" and "Mini"(Which is what Booth calls me. Mimi Squint, Mini Writer, Mini Bones…). They're always talking about me, though. _

_I guess I'm afraid this is too good to be true. Like, one day, I'll wake up and this has all just been a dream, or they'll become like my other foster parents and bail on me. And I know I won't be able to walk away from this one easily. For the first time, it's like having a real family. It's like being loved._

_Well, Sweets, I hope you're happy with my first journal entry, and I hope this helps. Basically, I'm happy, but I'm scared of losing that happiness._

_Why am I even telling you all this? No one else bothers to tell you how they really feel. Maybe I just trust you. Or maybe I just need to spill my guts to someone who I'm not afraid will abandon me. _

_Lily_

**A/N: I plan to update every episode… While it's on holiday hiatus, I'll catch up. I think after every journal entry, I'll have the therapy session. What do you think? Leave me a review and tell me… please?**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Yayyy! The first therapy session. It was extremely hard to write. These therapy sessions are not easy, at all. I hope you like it.

"Lily."

"Sweets."

"Take a seat."

The young girl did as she was told, sitting in a chair across from the psychologist, who had her diary open on his lap.

"So?" she asked, anxious to be done with the session. Sweets was her friend; she enjoyed talking to him. But the formal sessions were just too awkward for her taste.

Sweets thumbed through the first few pages of the journal. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Complimenting me."

"Oh." She blushed a little. _Awkward, awkward, awkward…_

"Congratulations on the good grades." Sweets smiled warmly, congratulating her as her friend and not her shrink.

"Thanks." _Less awkward…_

"Enjoy your spaghetti?"

"Yeah."

"Report card on Booth's fridge, or Brennan's?"

"Booth's."

"And Brennan was proud, too?"

"Sure."

"But Booth surprised you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"He knew it was report card day. He cared. He was proud of my grades. He called Brennan to tell her. He took me to dinner. He put it on the fridge. He hugged me and _told _me he was proud."

"Nobody's ever done that before?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Did you like that?"

"Um… yeah? What kind of question is that anyway?"

"An objective one about how you feel."

"I see. I guess. Moving on…" _Keep it from being awkward._

They sat in silence for a moment, until Sweets interrupted.

"You want them together, too." It wasn't a question.

"Um…" Lily looked up, confused.

"You said, and I quote, '_Probably the best thing that could ever happen to me- to all of us, actually- is if Booth and Brennan got married and the four of us became a real family.' _Although apparently, I'm not allowed to tell them that, to help convince them I'm right."

"Yeah… no. That's a secret. Even though it's true, and, in my opinion, painfully obvious."

"I agree. Totally obvious."

Lily giggled.

"What?" Sweets asked.

'You said 'Totally'. Are you my age or what?"

"I thought you were different from Booth. I thought you liked me. Maybe even respected me."

"Sorry, Sweets, but you're a little hard to respect when you're using words like 'Totally'."

"Well, then. Shall we continue?"

"'Shall'? Don't overdo it, Sweets. But sure. Go on. Keep shrinking my head."

Sweets cleared his throat. "I'm not shrinking anything, much less your head. How often to I have to tell all of you this?"

"Anyway…"

"I'm gonna move onto a more serious note. Cool?"

Lily giggled again. "Cool."

"These are the foster parents- well, parent- you've been closest to? No one's given you a sense of family before?"

"No. And, it's okay to say parents. I guess Booth is like a foster parent, even if it's not legally. He's more parent-ish than Brennan, anyway."

"I'm sorry you've never had that."

"No sweat. You can't miss what you never had."

"I find it interesting how you can be so nonchalant about never having a family, yet in your journal you told me you couldn't just walk away from this family like the ones before."

"Well… I don't think I could. I mean, I've never had a family until now. This is just amazing. I'm seeing what I've missed out on. And I just like it. I've got Brenn, Booth, Parker, Ange… It's more than I've ever had."

Suddenly, Booth poked his head in. "Mini? Time to go."

Sweets sighed. "No one has any respect for me around here."

"It's the 'totally'," Lily teased. "it's definitely the 'totally'."

Sweets smiled. "See you tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Yeah." She stuck her head out the door. "Booth! Don't leave me again!"

**A/N: Woo! The next chapter is Lily's journal entry about 'The Con Man in the Meth Lab'. I enjoyed writing it. It'll be up soon. There will be an ongoing, like, joke in the therapy sessions… See how long it takes you to figure it out! Please review…**


	3. Chapter 3

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_I'm shaking with anger right now. Quite literally shaking. I _hate _Jared Booth. I _hate _him. _

_Booth's birthday was coming up, and he was about to hit it big with the Rico case. But then Jared came._

_At first, we all liked him. Brennan even had a crush on him. And _he asked her out._ I hate it when she goes out with someone. She needs to see what's right in front of her face. Anyway, they even kissed. And, apparently, they talked about Booth a lot, and I'm assuming what he said was not all good, because next thing I know, Brennan and Booth are in this huge fight, and I'm hearing this crap about Brennan thinking Booth's a loser. He is most definitely _not _a loser. He's my hero._

_To add to that, the whole loser thing partially stemmed from the fact that Jared was caught _**DUI, **_and to keep Jared from losing his job, Booth had to give up his credit on the Rico case. No more Hawaii for him._

_Luckily, though, the whole Brennan/Jared thing was resolved when Sweets, Cam and I made an intervention. Brennan realized that _Jared _was the loser, and that was the end of that. I heard she pushed him out of a chair._

_Earlier tonight, Brennan made a lovely speech about how what anthropology has taught us about the alpha male was wrong, and she'll never be distracted by the 'baubles' again. The way she said it, and the 'Happy Birthday, Booth' was pretty darn close to 'I love you'. Now, the two of them are outside on a bench together, eating cake and talking. It's so sweet. Though, poor Brenn's arm is in a sling from being shot earlier._

_But, anyway, back to why I'm sitting at Booth's birthday party shaking mad. Booth and Jared had this whole conversation about how the drinking had to stop and booth was going to stop bailing Jared out. But Jared totally brushed him off and is now sitting down the bar from me _with a drink_. I keep death glaring at him, hoping flames will shoot out of my eyes. Sadly, no such luck._

_Hmmm, writing this has made me feel better. This is the best therapy yet, sweets. Keep up the good work. Haha._

_Well, I guess I'll return to the party now, keep my mind of frickin' Jared (I wonder if Booth would be mad if _I _yelled at him?). _

_Okay, Hodgins is calling me…_

_Lily_


	4. Chapter 4

"Am I getting the silent treatment today?"

"What?" Lily looked up at Sweets in confusion.

"You're not talking," he said. "Sounds like the silent treatment. Or, doesn't sound. Whatever."

"Am I supposed to say something?"

"Well…" he shrugged.

"I thought _you _were the shrink. And, you have my journal. Read it?"

"Yes. And, I must say, your feelings toward Jared Booth are perfectly understandable."

"If all my feelings are natural and understandable, then why am I here?"

"You don't like our sessions?" Sweets asked, sounding slightly hurt.

"I didn't say that. It's just curiosity. Why are my feelings so understandable?" She leaned forward in her chair to appear genuinely interested.

"Well, you are happy with Booth and Brennan, with the way things are. Jared threatened that. Naturally, you were angry. On top of that, he messed with people you love." Sweets smirked, satisfied with himself.

"It's just… Everyone takes advantage of Booth. If I asked for his right arm, if I ever even hinted at wanting or needing a right arm—weird analogy, I know, go with it—he'd give it to me, and then he'd be without a right arm." Lily sighed. "People take advantage of that."

"And Jared took advantage of him."

"He does! Booth's done it for so long, he just expects it. He knows he can just make messes and Booth will make it all go away. He doesn't care about the personal cost to Booth. Booth would do anything for anyone. And the people he does it for the most aren't even grateful."

"Like who? Like Dr. Brennan?"

Lily shrugged. "She takes advantage of how he always wants her to be happy, no matter how much it hurts him. But, I guess I can't really blame her, because I don't think she knows."

"But you can blame Jared?"

She nodded fervently. "I can _definitely _blame Jared."

"Hmmm. Interesting." He scribbled something in his notebook.

"Sweets, don't do that. Please."

"Okay, fine. You're upset because people upset Booth and don't care."

"Well, I-"

Suddenly, the door opened and Brennan stepped in. Lily and Sweets quickly shut their mouths.

"Um…" Brennan looked from her foster daughter to her therapist in puzzlement. "Lils, is your homework done?"

The teen looked guilty. "Not… all of it."

"You need to do it. Sweets, she has to go."

He sighed and threw her her journal. "TTYL."

Lily laughed as she left behind a very confused Brennan.

**A/N: Have you guessed the joke yet? Lol. Next chapter is a filler-ish diary entry, but **_**I **_**like it. I've enjoyed ya'll's reviews… Please keep them coming! Also, I will soon be adding some chapters that are not diary entries or therapy sessions, but kind of family-y things. And a few Christmas chapters, because I love Christmas! And flashbacks. I like those too. I'm looking forward to reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_I don't like the whole Angela/Roxie thing. First of all, who would've ever thought Angela could be gay? It's really weird._

_But that's not the worst thing. The worst thing is how badly it hurts Hodgins. They were so in love such a short time ago. And now his ex-girlfriend is with _her _ex-ex-girlfriend. _

_Sometimes I just want to crack Angela over the head and be like, "Are you stupid?" It angers me. _

_I used to have a ton of fun hanging out with Angela all the time, like spending the night at her house, but now I don't get to as much. Booth's Catholic upbringing (And my Protestant one, too, come to think of it), says homosexuality is wrong. Neither of us is homophobic, but Hodgins used to be over there all the time, which was fun, but now Roxie is over there all the time… It's weird and neither of us really likes it. I mean, for one thing, Booth is super protective, and he says he doesn't know Roxie. I guess I can agree with that. He said he had a lesbian aunt and loved her, so it's nothing against Angela or Roxie. _

_It's just really weird and kinda creepy. It sucks._

_I can hardly believe it. I don't want to believe it. I liked everything before, when Angela and Hodgins were together, and Zack wasn't in the loony bin. _

_Oh, God. Zack. I miss him so much. He was one of my best friends. I know what he did was very wrong, but I can't bring myself to love him any less._

_Well, everything can't be perfect. I'm just grateful to be here, to be loved. I just wish people weren't so _stupid.

Lily


	6. Chapter 6

"It is weird, isn't it? I mean, Angela? With a _woman_? Definitely difficult to understand."

Lily wrinkled her nose. "For real. Kinda… gross, actually."

"As a child, it is normal for you to find that disturbing, especially when all your relationship models are typical male/female couples."

"Um, Sweets, I hate to disappoint you, but I find that disturbing as a _person_."

He scanned through her diary entry. "You had a Protestant upbringing? I didn't know that."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Sweets. Today, you learned something new."

The therapist frowned. "As your therapist, it is not beneficial for you to keep things from me."

"Somehow Sweets, I don't think that all the details of my entire life are exactly relevant." She checked her watch. "And I don't have much time today. I have to pack for China. Brennan's going to look at some old Chinese bones, and Booth and I are tagging along."

"Hmmm. Sounds like fun." He checked the diary again. "So, you can't spend as much time with Angela now, just because she's dating a woman?"

"Booth doesn't like it."

"Does Dr. Brennan?"

"Brenn doesn't have a problem with it. She doesn't like that Booth is changing my relationship with Ange because of it. But she knows that I respect his decisions, and because of that, so does she."

"She told you this?" Sweets asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm an excellent eavesdropper."

He cleared his throat. "What upsets you the most about this whole, erm, situation?"

"How much it hurts Hodgins. They loved each other such a short time ago. Heck, they're still in love. It's like Booth and Brennan, just more…complicated."

"You mentioned Zack."

"I miss Zack. He was awesome." Lily smiled sadly.

"You can't love him any less for _killing someone_?"

She shook her head. "No. I can't. He made a stupid decision, but he's still Zack Addy. _Our _Zack."

"Is that what you meant when you said people were stupid?"

"Yes! _Everyone _makes stupid decisions. It was stupid to Zack to kill that man, stupid for Angela to go out with Roxie; stupid for Brenn to think Booth was a loser… I could go on and on."

"I get your point. With all this _stupid _going, you're still grateful to be here?"

"Hey, I have friends here, people who care. So what if they screw up? It's already way more than I expected. Just because I get upset occasionally doesn't mean I should ruin _all _my happiness."

"Excellent point, Mini," Booth said, walking in nonchalantly. "I have another excellent point. It's lunchtime. We're going to the diner."

Lily picked up her jacket and smiled apologetically at Sweets. "Sorry, but if I don't leave right this second, I won't eat."

"No, thank you, I don't feel like the diner today," Sweets mumbled as the door closed behind the FBI agent and the teenager.

**A/N: New thing. If you review, I will give you a spoiler for what's coming up. First reviewer gets **_**two **_**spoilers. Did you know yesterday was Christmas Adam? Yesh, because Adam comes before Eve. But, today is Christmas Eve. So, Merry Christmas Eve. Sadly, I only have today and Friday to update for 2008, and I have, like, eleven or twelve more chapters to be completely caught up. So, you may be getting Christmas chapters for New Years, but I'll try my best. If you want to know what will happen, please review! Next chapter will be up **_**soon.**_** Like, A.S.A.P. soon. So get those reviews in! **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Gasp! A flashback! Set during 'Yanks in the U.K.'.**

_"Hey, Booth," Lily said, answering her phone as she slid across the floor. _

_"Hey, Mini. You doing okay with Angela?" he asked. _

_"Oh yeah. We're sliding down the hallway in our socks." She took a running start and slid across the floor, banging into the door at the end of the hall. "Ouch."_

_"You okay?" Booth asked concernedly._

_"Occupational hazard of hall sliding." She pulled the phone away from her mouth. "Jeez, Ange let me get back down there first." She slid back down the hall and put an arm on the artist's shoulder to stop herself. "How is your trip?"_

_"Nice. It's good to have a grown-up vacation." It was his turn to pull the phone away from his mouth. "Bones, I'm talking to her. Okay, fine, I'll put it on speaker."_

_"Hi, Lils," Brennan greeted. "Having fun?"_

_"Yes. You?"_

_"Yes. We're sitting by London Bridge. Booth didn't want me to-"_

_"Okay, Bones, too much information for the thirteen-year-old," Booth interrupted. _

_This was met with hysterical laughter from Lily. _

_"What's so funny?" Brennan asked in confusion._

_"Angela just…" The girl interrupted herself with uncontrollable giggles. "Crashed into me."_

_"So, you're okay? You know, doing your homework, brushing your teeth, eating semi-healthy, not staying up _too _late, that sort of thing?" Booth asked._

_"Yes," Lily answered at the same time Brennan started complaining to her partner. _

_"I'm her legal guardian, Booth. I should be the one asking that."_

_"Bones, I was just being the responsible one, since you'd obviously rather discuss your rather adult personal life with her."_

_The forensic anthropologist pouted._

_"I'll get it!" Booth and Brennan heard Angela shout in the background._

_"We'll be home soon," Booth began, but he was interrupted by two noises that sounded suspiciously like squeals._

_"Gotta go," Lily said quickly. "Hodgins brought chocolate cake!" _

_"Well, bye," the two in Europe said in unison as the other line clicked off._

**A/N: Just a flashback showing how much fun Lily and Ange had, plus Booth being all parent-y and some B/B bickering. There will be another flashback soon. If you review, you might know what about, or maybe something just as cool.**


	8. Chapter 8

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_I'm on my way back from China now, after spending a whole ten minutes there. We weren't even allowed to get off the plane. Stupid kid just _had _to murder someone._

_So, here's how my "vacation" went. Brennan and I were in first class and poor Booth was stuck in coach. I sat behind Brennan, listening to my iPod and reading and writing. He kept trying to sneak in and sit next to Brennan, but the darn flight attendant lady wouldn't let him. Then, we heard a scream. And guess what? Yep, somebody died. And we only had until the flight landed to solve the case, or else Booth lost his jurisdiction to arrest the murderer. _

_Obviously, we solved the case and arrested the kid who did it. And now we're flying back. Brenn is upset she couldn't see her old Chinese bones. As Booth said, "Bones and her bones."_

_I'm a little disappointed. This would have been my first trip with Booth and Brennan. But, I'm not complaining. Except for the whole murder solving part, it was pretty cool. I got to ride in first class, which was huge, because I'd never even been on a plane before. Still, I was looking forward to hanging out in China, and maybe even looking at some bones. It was going to be fun. Oh well. Home, sweet, home, I guess._

_Okay, so I was cracking up earlier, because Brenn was looking at Elizabeth Jones' remains, and she had her big, funky glasses on and her hair pulled back. Booth walks in (They didn't know I was listening), and goes, "Okay, what I want you to do, is take off your glasses, shake out your hair, and say 'Mr. Booth, do you know the penalty for overdue books?'" She was SO confused. It was hilarious. Although, I must say that is not something I want to think about. _

_Also, when Booth first tried to come to first class, and the flight attendant told him he had to go back to coach, he goes, "We're partners. We like to be together." And she says, "I don't care about your sexual relationship." Brenn leans over and is all, "Why does everyone always assume we have a sexual relationship?" And, a little while ago, Booth and Brennan were toasting and talking. They leaned in close, and the kid who killed Ms. Jones, says, "Are you two going to make out?" And then, again, Brenn is all "Why does everyone always assume we're going to make out?" It was really hard not to laugh. I wanted to say so bad, "Because it's painfully obvious you love each other!" But that is not on the list of Top Ten Things to Tell Your Foster Parents. _

_Awww, they're both asleep. They're so tired, so stressed out. _

_I kinda am too. I think it's time to catch some z's._

_Lil_


	9. Chapter 9

"Well, you are certainly back sooner than we expected," Sweets joked.

"Yeah, I noticed."

"That was your first trip with them. I bet you're upset."

"Not too badly. I got to help solve a case. Like, really help." Lily smiled.

"So, those comments about Booth and Brennan?"

She blushed. "Ignore that, Sweets. I found it funny. Shouldn't have written that."

"I find it amusing."

"Well, then, aren't we special?" She rolled her eyes. "God, I'm tired."

"You didn't sleep on the way home?"

"Nope. Couldn't. I am so ready to go home and climb into my top bunk…"

"Going to Booth's?"

"Yeah."

"You wouldn't tell them they're in love?"

"Um, no. Would you?" Her eyelids fluttered.

"Hey, I've tried. Subtly, but I've tried," Sweets shrugged. "'Bones and her bones'?"

She nodded. "Bones and her bones."

"Yeah, hey, Mini, let's go home," Booth said, walking in.

The girl grabbed her jacket. "Thank you."

"Hey," Sweets protested. "She just got here."

"Look, Sweets, I've been on a plane all day, I've been really stressed, and I'm tired. Forgive me if I'm a little cranky. But this is the way it is. I'm going home, and I'm taking my kid with me." He was so tired, calling her his kid had come out accidentally. But Lily noticed. She left behind him in slight shock.

**A/N: Awww! I had that envisioned, of Booth being all, "I'm a little cranky!" Can't you just imagine that? I hate to disappoint, but there might not be therapy sessions for a while. I want to get all my Christmas chapters done before I leave on vacation for the New Year. So, what I have planned is the diary entry for 'The Bone That Blew', plus a flashback from something… and some funnn holiday chapters. So please, keep reviewing!**


	10. Chapter 10

_Dear Journal/ Sweets,_

_Talk about family turmoil. It has _definitely _been an interesting few days. _

_I thought Max was pretty cool. For a murderer, anyway. I was glad to meet him, and even as a thirteen-year-old, I enjoyed his little science lessons._

_I understood Brennan, I guess. He can't be near the forensic evidence. But I think you're right too, Sweets. Maybe she _is _afraid of being left, or whatever. Or maybe just resentful. I would be, too, I guess. There were times when I was angry with my mom for giving me up, even though I'd never met her. But now… If I had never been abandoned, I would have never met Brennan or Booth or Parker or anyone at the Jeffersonian. And I wouldn't trade this for anything._

_Anyway, Max is back working at the Jeffersonian. And, being the great eavesdropper that I am, I know it's because Booth asked Brenn as a favor to him. _

_I know Booth had been thinking about sending Parker to this super-elite private school. I probably would've gone too. I know Brennan was seriously considering it. But, in the end, Booth decided against it. I really didn't want to go to school with a bunch of snobby rich kids. Parker would hate it there, anyway. Like Booth said, we can get enough 'enrichment' from Brennan…And Max, which is why Booth wanted to keep him around. _

_Earlier today, before Booth took us home, Max did the whole Mentos in Diet Coke experiment with Parker and me while Booth and Brennan watched from the balcony. _

_The… well, I guess you could say coolest thing, was Parker called me 'Sissy' again. And this was much better circumstances than Booth's funeral. Anyway, he made the soda explode, and was yelling, "Daddy! Daddy! Did you see what me and Sissy did?"_

_I like it when he calls me Sissy, but it almost makes me sad. It makes me feel like I'm truly part of a family. I've become so attached to him—to all of them, really, but especially to him—and I know I might not always be around. _

_But I'm going to try very hard not to think about that. For now, I'm going to live in the present, and enjoy being a part of a family, even if I am shuffled between homes. Like Parker. _

_It's a dysfunctional family, but I wouldn't trade it for anything._

_Or any of the squints, for that matter._

_Not even you, Sweets._

_The feeling of having people who care about you, of having a family…It's incredible._

_Lily_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: OMG, another flashback! This one is sad in the beginning. **

_Booth was dead. Booth was dead and Lily's world may as well have been. She couldn't believe it, no matter that he had been shot before her eyes, in a moment that replayed itself over and over in her nightmares- and now she was having nightmares even when she was awake. _

_So, there she was, sitting in a chair next to Brennan, her eyes red and puffy. She fingered the silver cross around her neck, a gift from Booth for when Brennan took her in. As the people around her sniffled, she wiped her swollen eyes and tried to remember the last thing she said to Booth, besides screaming while Angela and Hodgins held her back as he died on the floor._

_When Parker and Rebecca arrived, Parker ran to the girl and sat in her lap. "Sissy, why are you crying?" She couldn't answer. "Daddy isn't dead, Sissy. Didn't they tell you?"_

_She didn't believe him. Maybe Rebecca had told him that, so that he didn't have to face the truth… but Lily had seen him get shot, heard the news with her own ears. And now, she was sitting at his funeral. _

_Finally, the service drew to an end. The group grieving for the FBI agent formed a line and slowly, sadly, each placed a rose on his casket. Lily stood was last, and sat the rose on the casket, tears dripping down her cheeks. "I loved you, Booth," she whispered. "Why did you have to leave?"_

_And then, everything started happening at once. Before she knew it, Brennan had hit someone with a fake arm off the fake body in Booth's casket, then hit Booth and run off. _

_"Booth!" Lily screamed, running into his arms. He held her tight. "Can I come home with you tonight?" she whispered. _

_He chuckled softly, and then looked at her. "You didn't know?"_

_"We all thought you were dead," she whimpered. "Parker told me a little while ago, but I didn't believe him." She sniffed. "Why would you keep that from us?" _

_"You were supposed to know, Mini. I promise."_

_"Dr. Sweets!" The young girl was usually very quiet, and it surprised all how loud and violent her shouting was. _

_The therapist looked up in shock. "Lily? What's up?"_

_"Why didn't you tell me Booth was alive?! Why would you keep that from me?! How could you?! Do you even know what it felt like to think he was dead?! Obviously not!" She attempted to storm away, but he grabbed her by the arm. _

_"Lily, I did it because I wanted to see how Dr. Brennan would react. I wanted to know-" _

_She yanked her arm out of his grasp. "That was stupid, Sweets! You're stupid! I hate you!" _

A/N: Wow… Man, I would be that mad, I think. What did you think? Next chapters are the holidays… Yayyy holidays!!


	12. Chapter 12

_Dear Journal/ Sweets,_

_I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting for Thanksgiving. Booth just ended up bringing Chinese food, and Max came over. Brennan's not much of a cook, and Rebecca had Parker, so there wasn't much of a family celebration to be had._

_Since we were off from school, I just kind of chilled. I was really bored all day. Brennan spent most of the day writing. As Hodgins says, she had that look where it looks like she stuck a fork in a toaster. So, I was pretty much alone. _

_Then, Max called and asked if we were doing anything, and then, like, five seconds later, Booth called to ask if we wanted him to bring over Chinese food. While most people were sitting at home enjoying turkey and other delicious, homemade, American favorites, we were chowing down on stir-fry._

_Happy Thanksgiving! _

_Yeah, haha. _

_It wasn't _that _bad, though. It was pretty funny, actually. Both Max and booth are really funny, and they were telling jokes and we were all just… talking. _

_It got me wondering. Is this what normal families do?_

Lil 


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I went shopping on Black Friday… * Shivers* I could just imagine Booth and Lily dragging Brennan around…

"Remind me again why we're shopping at five a.m.," Brennan said groggily as her, Booth and Lily pretty much stood still in the middle of the store.

"It's Black Friday, Bones," Booth said, like it was obvious. "This is where you get the best deals."

"It's five a.m. and we're not even moving," she complained.

"Bones, it's an American tradition. Please go with it."

Bones looked to Lily, who had been very silent. "Don't tell me you're enjoying this, too."

"It's five a.m., Brennan. I'm hardly conscious."

"Awww, Lily, don't fall asleep on me," Booth begged, extremely awake and sunny. "What do you want for Christmas?"

"I don't need anything," she said shyly.

"That wasn't my question. What do you _want _for Christmas?"

"Nothing, Booth," she persisted.

"I don't think so." He smiled at her. "Why don't you walk down to the section with your clothes and pick out a thing or two?"

"Booth, I couldn't," she insisted. Lily was not used to Christmas gifts. "The state will give me a few things, like they always do."

"Will you just do what he says so we can go home?" Brennan pleaded.

Lily sighed, promising herself to pick out two of the cheapest things.

"All right, now we can actually shop for her," Booth said cheerily.

"And we're getting this all done today? Booth, we're gonna be here for hours!"

"Bones stop whining. Please?"

"Fine. What do you think Lily will want?"

"Oh, come on, Bones. To the hair stuff, and the make-up…"

"How do you know so much about what girls want?" she asked, skeptically.

"Do not doubt me. Come on, before she gets back!"

The partners went to the hair section first, and Booth wanted to throw everything in the cart.

"Booth, don't spend _all _your money on her," Brennan advised. "_I'm _her legal guardian."

"It's just… Bones, this is her first Christmas with people who actually care about her for being Lily. She deserves this."

Brennan nodded and began to help him pick things out. "What do you think she'll want, specifically?"

"I don't know. And if you ask, she'll say nothing. We're more than she's ever had, and she'd never admit to wanting more." He smiled. "Why don't you go help her? I'll see what other stocking stuffers I can find."

She rubbed her eyes and headed towards the clothes. She needed ideas for Lily's Christmas presents from her. After all, she _was _Lily's legal guardian. It was her job to provide for the girl, not Booth.

"Brennan! Look at this!" Lily called when her foster mother came into sight.

"Did you find something you want?" she asked in confusion when she saw Lily, who normally dressed pretty conservatively, holding a slightly revealing top.

"No. It's for you!"

"For me? When would I wear this?"

"On Christmas."

"Why?"

_Merry Christmas to Booth, _the thirteen-year-old thought. "Come on, Brenn. It'll be adorable. Please? For me?"

Brennan sighed. "Okay, okay."

About an hour later, Booth finally agreed to take the girls home. Lily was out like a light in the first few minutes of the ride home, and Brennan and Booth discussed Christmas.

"I have Parker for Christmas again. You and Lily can spend Christmas Eve at my house, and we'll all open presents in the morning. Lily'll sleep in her bunk bed, I'll take the couch, and you can have my bed."  
"Booth, I couldn't, I-"

"Please? Just think about it? I want to give Mini a family Christmas."

Brennan leaned her seat back. "I'll think about it."

A/N: Okay, Ima post two more chapters before I go away for a week. Thanks to GryffindorPrincess23 for her help! 3 ya girl, lol! Please review!!


	14. Chapter 14

Seeley Booth already thought of Lily Catherine Rivers as his daughter. She often stayed at his house, ate his food, and his son called her 'Sissy'. There were only two things standing between him and being her father: DNA and Dr. Temperance Brennan, the girl's foster mother. And those problems could easily be done away with using only some papers and a few signatures.

But, maybe Dr. Brennan _was _a challenge. She extremely protective of her guardianship, constantly reminding him that she was Lily's legal guardian and he was not. He had, however, heard of joint custody. She could sign a paper and be just as much Lily's guardian as Agent Booth. Yes, maybe his partner would go for that.

Booth not only wanted Lily to legally be his daughter because he loved her like a daughter (and he truly did; she had him wrapped around her little finger), but also because he felt she deserved a permanent, loving family, and he could give her that. Lily knew better than most that foster guardianship did not last forever. She had already been taken away from the Jeffersonian once, and by adopting her, Booth could make sure that never happened again.

If he adopted her, he could make sure she always had what the others girls had, he could give her the street smarts the Squints didn't posses. He could walk her down the aisle at her wedding; give her away.

Last Christmas, he had given her a home with Brennan. This Christmas, he wanted to give her a home with him. Now, all he needed to do was have a long talk with the two most important ladies in his life.

**A/N: What do you guys think of **_**that**_**?**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: This flashback is from 'The Santa in the Slush'.**

_In her final moments at the Jeffersonian, Lily had given rather tearful farewells to some of her best friends. The only good-byes remaining were the hardest. _

_She paused outside Brennan's office door, already choked up from her visit with Angela; her tears spilling over as she prepared herself to see Booth and Brennan for the last time. _

_Lily knew all about the trailer for Brennan's family, but she didn't know what Caroline's deal included. So, when she heard the attorney's voice, she stopped walking and just peeked through the window._

_To her happiness, she witnessed the passionate kiss between Booth and Brennan. She knew it was part of a deal, but it was still a kiss. She smiled and wiped her tears away, deciding to leave the letters she had written for the partners outside the door. She knew she couldn't handle the good-bye, and the two deserved time to think about what had just happened between them._

_The social worker was waiting, anyway._

_Lily sat in the familiar waiting room of the agency, waiting to be told whom she was going home with this day. She had no idea that Brennan had applied for custody._

_"I'm FBI," she heard a familiar voice say. "And also Dr. Brennan's partner. She can't make it right now."_

_"Booth?" Lily asked in disbelief._

_"Hey Mini." He smiled gently at her, Parker at his side. "Yes, she knows me. Look, you already have Dr. Brennan's signature. I'm just going to be dropping Lily off with her. Besides, I'm FBI."_

_"Booth, what's going on?" the very confused thirteen-year-old asked._

_"Bones is your new foster mom, and I'm trying to take you to her."_

_"Brennan's—Brenn's my new foster mom?" the girl asked in shock._

_"Yes, but she doesn't know that you're changing custody tonight. She's with her family, and I want to surprise her. But _she,_" he looked pointedly at the social worker, "Won't let me."_

_The middle-aged woman sighed and pulled out a paper and pen. "Sign here, 'Agent'. And if we find out you've kidnapped her, we _will _call the FBI."_

_After he signed, Booth pulled out his badge again. "Again, I _am _the FBI." _

_Parker rambled on and on during the drive to the prison yard. Booth chuckled, amused, in the front seat. And then he turned thoughtful, and finally somber. "Mini, why didn't you say good-bye? You said good-bye to everyone else."_

_"Oh." She looked down at the floor. "I saw you and Brennan, and I—I decided to give you your moment there. And…" She bit her lip._

_"And what?" Parker chirped._

_"I couldn't do it, Booth. It was bad enough leaving. I just couldn't make myself say good-bye. I didn't want to. And I didn't want to upset you. That's why."_

_"Mini…" The FBI agent whispered. And then he looked up. "We're here."_

_"I love my present, Booth," Brennan said as she stared out the trailer window at the Christmas tree._

_"There's more," he said softly. "Mini."_

_Lily came out from behind the car, a mile wide smile lighting up her face. _

_"You are welcome to pick up your ward anytime, though it would be lovely for her to spend Christmas with Parker and me." The FBI agent smiled, and his partner felt her eyes fill with tears._

_"This is the best Christmas ever," she said as the young girl outside the window said the same thing._

**A/N: Awww! That was my favorite chapter, I think. You know what else is my favorite? Reviews. So can I have some? **_**Please?**_** I won't be posting for about a week, since I'm leaving on vacation, but then I'll finish the holiday chapters and be ready for the new episodes!**


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: I was getting reviews that said it was ridiculous that I haven't updated, so I figured… Yeah, I should probably update. These are some random Christmas shopping things I find humorous.

"All right, Mini, what do you think I should get Bones for Christmas?" Booth asked as he walked through the mall with Lily.

The girl smiled mischievously. "I have an idea." She grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him to the nearest jewelry store. She pointed to a diamond engagement ring. "Aha," she chirped.

He thumped her on the back of the head.

"Ouch! Booth! What was that for?"

He grabbed her by the shoulders and walked her out of the store. "What do you think that was for?"

Laughing, she stuck her tongue out at him and he led the teenager through the mall.

As they walked around a little bit later, Booth's phone went off. "Hey, Bones," he greeted.

"I have decided- in Lily's best interest, mainly- that, if it isn't too much trouble, we would very much like to spend Christmas with you and Parker. But _I _will sleep on the couch."

"No, you will take the bed and I will sleep on the couch," Booth argued.

"Booth, I am not taking your bed."

"Bones, you're not sleeping on the couch."

"You could both sleep in the bed," Lily suggested from next to Booth. He thumped her on the back of the head. "Ouch! You keep doing that!"

"I'm going to do that every time you make that sort of comment, about _that._" He pointed to another section not too far away. "Go look over there."

"What did she say?" Brennan asked.

"Nothing, Bones. Just Mini being Mini."

Since Lily was normally very reserved around Brennan, the anthropologist was slightly confused. But, she brushed it off. "I got some presents for Lily. And Parker."

"I've got Parker taken care of, but I still want about one more thing for Lily. That's why I brought her today. Ideas."

"Don't you think you've already gotten Lily enough?"

"Bones, didn't we already have this conversation?"

"You're spoiling her. And you're not even her legal guardian. I am."

"That reminds me. I need to talk to you." He had made his decision regarding Lily, and it was time to take the next step.

"Booth, we are talking."

"I mean face to face. No kids. We'll go to dinner tonight, okay? Mini and Parks will be okay for a little while. Later, the four of us can watch a movie or something. But dinner's just you and me, okay?"

Brennan was slightly taken aback by how serious he sounded. "Okay."

He looked around the store, making sure Lily hadn't been abducted, and wondering what in the world to get his partner. "All right, well, I'm going to go. See you at home. Bye."

A small, older lady near him had been listening to much of the conversation. "You should tell your wife you love her," she advised.

"Yeah, I should," he said absently, with a faraway look in his eye.

**A/N: I like the thumping. I find it amusing. And Booth's comment at the end… Haha, I got the old lady idea at Physical Therapy. I have nothing to do there but come up with ideas for this story, Lol. Next chapter will be the talk at the diner, then Christmas (Which Mila is being fabulous and helping me write), then a New Year's **_**fiesta, **_**and then… 'Double Trouble in the Panhandle'! (Just one more week!) I want to ask one smallish favor of you, my lovely readers. What do you think Lily looks like? I'm curious, because I might be describing her some more. It would be nice of you to leave me that in a review. Actually, it would be nice of you to leave me a review in general… **


	17. Chapter 17

When they had their food in front of them, Booth looked up at Brennan, a serious expression on his face.

"We need to talk."

"About what? You seem awfully serious."

"Lily."

"Is she okay? Did she do something wrong?"

"No, no. Everything is fine. I've just been thinking. You know how you're Mini's legal guardian, but she's usually with me?"

"Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"Bones, I- I don't know exactly how to say this."

"It's all right, Booth. I'll tell her that you have your own child, and she should be with her legal guardian."

"No. That's not what I'm saying at all." He took a deep breath. "I want to adopt her."

Brennan's eyes went as wide as the dinner plates in front of them. "You want to take her away from me?"

"No! I just want to be her dad, legally. I want to give her a permanent home."

"You want to take her away from me," she repeated breathlessly.

"No. No. You can spend as much time with her as you want. She can stay at your house every weekend. I just want to be recognized as her father."

"You don't think I'm a good enough parent for her."

"That's not it at all. Not at all. I just- I just love her is all, and I want her to be my daughter."

"You're going to take her, legally."

"Look, you can sign, too, and we'll both legally be her parents. She needs a mom."

"Are you suggesting we enter into a relationship for Lily's benefit?"

"Um, uh, no," Booth said, startled. "I just want to be called your dad, you know, inspect her boyfriends, give her advice-"

"I think that's more dependant on how she wants your relationship to be than your legal status."

"Okay, look. I love her like she was of my own blood. It almost feels like she is. All I have to do is go and sign and she's not a foster kid anymore. I just thought I'd talk to you first."

"Fine," Brennan snapped. "Take her from me. She'd probably be happier anyway."

"No, she wouldn't."

"Yes, she would. She'd always rather be with you. If you just took her, she'd be happy."

"Not if it hurt you."

"What?" she looked up, surprised.

"You're her best friend. She idolizes you. She loves you, Bones. That's why I wanted to talk to you before I did anything."

"Oh." She wiped a tear from her cheek, feeling stupid for crying.

"Hey," Booth said gently, putting a hand on hers, which was resting on the table between them. "Let's eat our dinner, and then we can go home and watch that movie with the kids."

She smiled slightly. "Okay, Booth. I'll think about the adoption thing."

"Let's just do dinner and the movie right now, Bones."

She smiled and took a bite of her food.

**A/N: Again, what did you guys think of **_**that**_**?**


	18. Chapter 18

_Dear Journal/ Sweets,_

_I have decided Christmas is the best. These past two Christmases, I've gotten more than I could've ever wished for. Last year, I got a home with people who really love me. This year, I got lots of clothes, an iPod from Booth, a camera from Brennan, some fantastic books from Hodgins, a purse from Ange, earrings from Cam, and even Zack managed to get me something. He got me a notebook and a book with a title I couldn't spell even if I wanted to. I still love it, though. And I really miss Zack, even though I got to see him today for the first time in weeks. Oh, and Parker got me a football we've been playing with on and off all day. _

_This Christmas was super awesome because it was all family-ish. Brennan and I stayed at Booth's house, Parker and me in our bunk beds, Booth on the couch, and Brenn in the bed. I still think they should have _both _slept in the bed, but whatever._

_On Christmas Eve, Brennan and I went to Booth's with all of the presents (Brenn wore that top I picked out for her on Black Friday… Booth enjoyed it, I could tell.). The four of us made dinner, and then we watched a really funny Christmas movie we've seen a bunch of times. After that, we played a lot of Christmas music, and we danced and talked and Parker and I made cookies for "Santa". _

_Then, Parker fell asleep, so Booth made me go to bed, too. I'm assuming he and Brennan put out the presents from "Santa". We woke up this morning and opened our presents from "Santa" and Booth and Brennan. I got Booth some crazy socks and a gift card to the hardware store. Lame, I know, but I couldn't think of anything else, and he seemed to like it. For Brennan, I got a necklace and earrings and a photo frame with a picture of her, Booth and me in it. I got Parker a real football helmet and a mouth guard (the mouth guard was Brenn's idea)._

_ I wanted to hug the Squints right then and there and give them their presents, but I had to wait until lunch. We all went together, all family-ish. I wish Zack could've been there. Technically, he could have broken out again… We went to visit him, and I gave him another poem I wrote, because he always carried that one around in his wallet, and a book of brain puzzles. I bet he already has them all solved. He _is_ King of the Looney Bin, after all. _

_I gave all the Squints their presents: a nail care set for Cam, perfume and lotion for Ange, and cologne for Hodgins. They said they liked it. _

_Brennan and I went to see Russ and Amy and the girls yesterday. They got me some hair stuff and a bracelet. I felt bad because I didn't get them anything. _

_That was pretty much Christmas. Booth and I persuaded Brennan to spend one more night here, so we go home tomorrow and back to the Jeffersonian the next day.  
Parker and Booth want to go play football before it gets too dark. Brennan will just watch. I can catch a mean pass, man! Haha. Merry Christmas!_

_Lily Cate _


	19. Chapter 19

Lily was sitting on Brennan's bed watching her foster mom hold clothes up to herself in the mirror, sigh, and throw the clothes onto a chair. It was quite entertaining, and the pile was getting quite high.

"Ooh, that looks nice," the girl commented on a somewhat revealing red dress. Booth would flip. Seriously.

The anthropologist wrinkled her nose. "I don't know…" she said slowly. "Do you think Booth would like it? And is it good for the party?"

Lily bit back a laugh. "I think the answers to both of those questions are definitely 'yes'. So why don't you put that on and finish primping while _I _get dressed?"

Brennan nodded, still in thought. "Okay. It's almost six, anyway. Booth said he and Parker were going to take us to dinner before we all went to Angela's."

Lily hopped off the bed and went to leave the room. "It really does look good."

"Yeah, I guess it does."

"Hey, Booth. Parker," Lily greeted, hugging each when they finally arrived. "Brenn will be ready in just a second. You ready for 2009?" she asked the little boy.

"Yeah!" he shouted.

Lily sidled up to Booth. "You're going to kiss Bones at midnight."

"Was that a question?"

"No." This earned her a thump on the back of the head. "Ouch!"

Brennan walked out at this exclamation. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," the girl and the FBI agent said at the same time.

"Angela!" Lily whispered loudly as she entered the artist's kitchen, leaving the others in the living room. "Can we lock Booth and Brenn in a closet about midnight?"

Angela laughed. "That's a great idea, Sweetie, but it might be just a _little _drastic."

"It's almost midnight!" Lily called to the crowd of people. She shook a sleeping Parker. "Parker! Parker! Wake up! It's almost a whole new year!" The kid looked around sleepily.

Booth pulled Parker onto his lap, and Lily and Brennan sat on either side of him.

"Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One… Happy New Year!" chanted the Jeffersonian staff.

Lily hugged Booth and Parker, then made rounds around the room, hugging Brennan, Angela, Hodgins and Cam.

It must have been close to two a.m., and Lily and Parker were both asleep on Angela's couch. The adults were still up talking. Booth looked over at the sleeping children and nudged his partner. "I think it's about time to leave."

She smiled softly. "Yeah." They went around and made their good-byes.

"I think I could carry Mini if you carry Parker," Booth suggested to Brennan. "If you want to."

"Lily can walk," Brennan protested. "But of course I'll carry Parker."

Each picked up a sleeping child and carried them to the car, strapping them in, and then carrying them to the bunk beds in Booth's house.

"Why don't you just stay over, Bones?" Booth asked.

She looked as if she was about to argue, but yawned instead. So Booth gave her a t-shirt of his and sent her to his bed, taking the couch.

**A/N: I just wanted to do a series of cute little drabbles for this one. Sorry it's so late, but I have been very busy. **_**Ocupadísima**_**. Again, I am really, really very sorry. I hoped you like it, though. I'm so ready for the **_**two **_**new episodes on the same night… New episodes mean journal entries! Woo! I promise to get those up as quickly as I can. Hope you like this! Please review!**


	20. Chapter 20

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Well, that was certainly an interesting case, just because of the whole undercover-at-the-circus thing. It was priceless._

_First of all, they were undercover as _married _circus people. That's just great in itself. Apparently, there was only one bed in their trailer. Another fabulous aspect of this case. Hee hee. I would _so _get flicked in the head if I ever brought that up. But, hey, I have a feeling it would be way worth it._

_I enjoyed watching their "Russian Knives of Death" act—mostly. It was a little scary. I trust Booth with everything, but I was a tad afraid for Brennan. As were watching on the web cam, Angela and I kept grabbing each other's arms and holding our breaths. I can laugh about it now, but at the time, it was pretty terrifying. _

_I also got to stay with Angela this time. We had a lot of fun, as usual. And we did some deep talking about—well, stuff._

_The case was pretty crazy, too. How often do we come across Siamese Twins? Try never. And it was pretty cool how close-knit that circus community was. That strongman took all the blame for messing with the bodies (or is it one body?)… I wonder if we would do that here. Angela would. I probably would, and so would Booth. The others are slightly questionable, though I'd like to think they would._

_Vincent Nigel-Murray worked this case with us. I like Wendell better. Did you know he plays hockey with Booth? Anyway, Vincent is always telling us completely irrelevant information, like he's trying to impress someone with his knowledge. Frankly, it's annoying. _

_It was interesting to know, Sweets, that you're adopted. I think it's cool you went looking for your biological mom. I don't know if I ever would. I guess it depends on what ends up happening to me. I mean, I only have a little over four years left in the system. If I never have a permanent family, maybe I'd like to know. Maybe I'd like to know anyway. But if I get a permanent family, I guess I'd be okay with them being my family. I don't know, Sweets. You've got me confused. How did you feel?_

_Moving on, according to you, Brennan was demonstrating major trust and willingness when she kept getting Booth to throw knives at her… I totally agree. She trusts him inexplicably, and he's always extremely concerned about her. What an interesting relationship, hahaha._

_I'm glad to have Booth and Brenn home, no matter how entertaining that all was._

_Lily CR_

**A/N: Can you believe this is Chapter Twenty already?**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I am actually beginning to kind of hate these... But you guys like them, and I love you guys, so feel special!**

"I'm glad to be able to do these again," Sweets said as Lily walked in and sat down. "I spent a lot of time wondering what was going on in your head. And Booth's and Brennan's. You provide a lot of insight to them for me."

"Um... is that a good thing, Sweets?"

"For me." He scanned the journal. "Let's not worry about the holidays, okay? Just this latest case."

"Sure. It was interesting. Took us a minute to figure out the whole Siamese Twin thing, but hey-- it's a pretty rare occurrence."

"We're not here to discuss the science of the case, Lily."

She sighed. "Well then. What do you want to talk about?"

"Finding your biological mom."

"Of course. I had a feeling I'd regret writing that."

"Why?"

"You'd blow it out of proportion."

"Okay, so what did you talk about with Angela?"

"If I wanted you to know, I would have written it down."

"Did we wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

"I don't know about you, but I woke up on the same side of the bed as always. It would be kinda hard to wake up on the other one...considering my bed is next to a wall. What kinda expression is that, anyway? Who cares what side of the bed I wake up on? That's just creepy. What side of the bed do _you _wake up on?"

"Lily. Focus."

"Okay. You make a ridiculous comment and you tell _me _to focus?"

"Lily."

"Whatever. Besides my biological mother, what do you want to talk about?"

"Trust. You trust Booth?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Okay, Lily, let's stop poking fun at my comments and questions."

"Of course I trust Booth. With my life. I mean, you'd have to be crazy not to. But...I was a _tad _bit scared for Brenn. I mean, she could have died. What if Booth had something in his eye and miscalculated? She could have gotten her nose cut off..."  
"So you were worried?"

"Yes. I mean, he was throwing _knives._ I would be worried if _anyone _was throwing them. Especially at Brenn."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? She's my foster mom! And they were pretty sharp knives."

"So you care about Brennan."

"Wow, Sweets. For a therapist...you're kinda slow. Of course I do. Then again, I'd be worried for anyone. If _you _were up there with an apple on _your _head, I'd be scared for you, too."

Sweets smiled at the comment. "Thanks."

"I'd expect the same from you." Lily said with a shrug.

"I'd be worried for you, too," Sweets said, in almost a hesitant way. "But I do think it's interesting that you and Dr. Brennan would trust Booth inexplicably."

"You wouldn't?"

"Um... no."

"Oh. Well, I mean, he's never let me-- us, down. He's saved Brenn a number of times, and... Stuff."

"Stuff? You like that word, but it doesn't help me."

"Lily? Time for school," Brennan interrupted, poking her head in.

"Dr. Brennan, we are in the middle of--"

"School comes first," Booth interrupted as he came up behind his partner. "We'll take you on the way to the FBI building."

"Okay." Lily smiled, grabbed her backpack and caught her diary as Sweets threw it.

"After school?" Sweets asked hopefully.

She gave him an 'Oh, please' look, and he shook his head.


	22. Chapter 22

_Dear Journal/ Sweets,_

_Tonight was another interesting night at the rink. Booth broke his hand in a fight with someone who kept hitting his and Wendell's teammates. He got two minutes in the penalty box, and was really angry. But then Brennan smiled and waved at him and he smiled back. She loves watching him play hockey, and he loves when she comes to the games. _

_Anyway, towards the end of the game, Wendell fell and hit his head really hard, and that's when Booth started fighting the guy who knocked him down. He broke his hand on the guy's helmet. _

_Brennan was all worried. Of course. She even went inside the locker room… That had to have been interesting._

_I like going to Booth and Wendell's games. They're a lot of fun (when they're not getting hurt)._

_Lily _

A/N: Because I loved 'The Fire in the Ice' so much, there will be three more journal entries and then a therapy session. I will do another entry for when Booth becomes a suspect (Lily is very protective of him, and of him and Brennan's relationship), when he hits his head, and then at the very end. ¿_Bien? _


	23. Chapter 23

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_I am angry. Quite angry. How can Booth be a murder suspect? I don't care what the evidence says. Booth did _not _kill anybody. I'll use his own words: _

_"I've killed, but I've never murdered."_

_How can anybody even think that? _

_On top of that, there's a new FBI agent here, working this case. Agent Payton Perotta. I do not like her. She's taking over Booth's job. I refused to give her Hodgins's results. Instead, I went to find Brenn._

_Plus, I think that she likes Booth. She kept asking Brennan stuff, like if Booth is always flirty and if his eyes twinkle for everyone. Brennan was jealous. Booth eyes only twinkle for Brennan. Because he loves her. _Fact.

_Anyway, I still can't believe people are thinking Booth is a murderer (Sure, he did knock that guy around a little at the hockey game, but it's _hockey_). _

_And I'm very ready for Perotta to leave. She makes off-handed comments when I'm around about my being young, and a foster child. I will definitely have to talk to Booth about her._

_I think I'm going to do some more looking at that evidence. Why can't everyone see what I know? They must be reading the evidence wrong. And whatever I find I will report to Brennan. Or, anyone other than Perotta._

_Lily_


	24. Chapter 24

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_I'm sitting on the couch in Brennan's office next to Booth. He was playing hockey and he had to fight with a certain guy to make him bleed so we could get his DNA. Said guy knocked Booth out. Like, he fell ad hit his head and was on the ground, unconscious, for a few minutes. I was absolutely terrified._

_Brennan ran out onto the ice, and she was the first thing he saw when he woke up (Awww!), and she told him, "I get nervous when you fall down and don't get back up" (Again, Awww!)._

_He's mostly fine. He has a concussion, though. Brennan and I are going home with him to make sure he's okay and to not let him fall asleep and slip into a coma._

_Oh, Booth is ready to go. He just wants Brennan and I to take him home and get him some soup. _

_Hopefully more later._

_Lily Cate_


	25. Chapter 25

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_I have the house to myself. Well, Booth's house, anyway. Like I said before, Brennan and I are staying over to make sure Booth doesn't go to sleep, and then he got an idea._

_He decided it would be fun to take us back to the rink for ice-skating. Well, he didn't tell Brenn it was ice-skating, just that he had a really fun idea. I got the real dish, though. _

_Anyway, being the clever girl/matchmaker I am, I declined and told them I was tired (lie). Booth looked torn between grateful and wanting to thump the back of my head, because he knew exactly what I was thinking. _

_But, they went, and now I'm sitting here, quite smugly. _

_I know they're having fun. I'll get all the details later._

_Lily_


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: To mix things up a little, I decided to do a scene rather than a therapy session. : )

Booth lay on the couch with Lily sitting on the floor leaning up against it. He had finally convinced Brennan to get some sleep after ice-skating, but Lily had woken up shortly after they finally arrived home.

Booth gently ran his fingers over the girl's caramel-colored curls and leaned down a little to look at her. "So did you like working with Agent Perotta?" he asked off-handedly.

She leaned her head back to face him; the top of her head on his chest. "No," she answered, equally off-handedly, as if they were discussing the weather.

"Oh." He shrugged a little. "Okay then."

Lily had expected Booth to ask why, but he absentmindedly continued to play with her hair; wrapping curls around his fingers and staring off into space as she continued to keep her brown eyes focused on him.

"Did you think I murdered that man?"

He asked this so quietly, without looking at her, that she wasn't sure he had really said it. Then, her brain processed it and she fully turned to look at him.

"No! No, never. I never doubted you for a second, Booth."

"And the evidence?" Again, this was almost a pleading whisper.

"I didn't care what the evidence said."

"Really?" She was training to be a Mini Bones. To ignore the evidence was so… un-Bones of her.

"I know you, Booth. I never thought for a second that you did that. I believed you, right from the very beginning. Always."

A smile crept across the FBI agent's face, and he sat up, holding out his arms. "Mini… come here."

Almost gratefully, she took the hug, grinning. With her arms still around him, she looked up at him, her chin resting on his chest. "I was so mad, Booth, that people could think you were a murderer. I didn't like Agent Perotta because she suspected you, because she was trying to be you." She finished in a whisper, "Because she liked you."

"What was that last thing?"

"Nothing. It's just… Perotta made comments, too… About me, to my face, and I… I didn't like it."

"Comments?" His face turned dark. "Like what?"

"Don't worry about it, Booth."

He stood up and began pacing, and the girl rolled her eyes. "What did she say, Lily?"

"She said I was thirteen and a foster child. Like I didn't know that already!"

"Oh." He grew quiet at her shouting. "Oh."

"Don't worry about it, Booth. I'm used to it now. Just not at… Not at the lab."

In that moment, Booth understood that Lily thought of the Jeffersonian as her home, and everyone there as her family. It was her safe place; her haven.

"I'm gonna…"

"No, you're not, Booth. You're going to act like I never even said that."

"Mini, I can't. You know that if someone talks to you like that, I can't just let it go."

"You can, and you will." She spun on her heel and ran to her and Parker's empty room, sitting on Parker's bottom bunk, tears overflowing for the first time since Pete Carlson turned up dead.

"What was that all about?" Brennan asked sleepily, exiting Booth's bedroom to find him standing next to the couch, looking very aggravated.

"She's upset with me."

"I got that. Why?"

"She doesn't want me to stick up for her, I guess. I really have no clue."

"Where is she?" Brennan asked in a whisper, giving a sympathetic look towards her partner. It wasn't his fault he didn't understand girls in general, that he didn't know how Lily felt about him, didn't know how she had felt about the case. In fact, Brennan was only just beginning to realize this herself.

"Her room," Booth answered, running his hands through his hair. The events of the past few days had weighed extremely heavily on him, and he was tired, and he had a headache, and now he had upset Lily. After the ice-skating, he was happy for the first time since Carlson's remains were found. And now, this night just kept getting worse.

Brennan quietly crept into the bedroom, seeing her foster daughter curled up on the lower bunk, tears spilling down her cheek. "Lily," she whispered, sitting down next to the girl.

"Brenn…" she wiped the tears from her face. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"No sweat." She wrapped her arm around the girl, pulling her to her side. "This was not an easy case. I understand. But what… What happened with Booth?"

"We were talking about Perotta, and I mentioned how she made comments about my age and being a… a foster child. I wanted him to forget it… I shouldn't have said anything."

"Why not?"

"He'd make a big deal out of it. He'd talk to Perotta. Probably yell at her. Screw things up. It wasn't a big deal to me."

"He's just looking out for you, Lils. Now, I think you should go apologize. And then you need to get some sleep, okay?"

Lily walked out to the living room, to Booth on the couch. She sat next to him, and leaned on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Booth."

A/N: Was that chapter horrible? I mean, it was a little overly emotional... But I don't know. It's a different side of Lily, and a different side of Brennan... What did you think?


	27. Chapter 27

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_I write this as I wait for Brennan to finish getting ready for her award ceremony. I've been ready for fifteen minutes, and I'm really bored and, for some reason, a little hyper. _

_I'm wearing my purple and silver dress Ange helped me pick out, but its spaghetti strap and it's kinda cold, so I'm also wearing a really big silver coat I got for Christmas. And silver high heels. They're Brenn's. _

_So, she's getting some award tonight. Booth called it the "Super Scientist Award", or something like that. But he talks _really _loud on the phone, and Brenn called him on the way here. She was freaking out about him getting there on time to watch some tribute video, and he kept going on about his tux. I tried hard not to laugh. I don't think I entirely succeeded, but Brennan was occupied with said conversation. _

_And I distinctly heard, "I bet you are looking beautiful," from Booth to Brennan. Uhm-hum._

_So, I'm ready… and Brennan's not. Shoulda seen that one coming. I guess I can forgive her. It's not like she gets an award everyday. Or, at least, not _quite _everyday. Ah, yes, the famous Dr. Brennan. Everyday is an adventure of sorts. What to expect? The unexpected, my friend. _

_So, like I said, I'm a little hyper. Excitement? I _am _proud of her. Just like everyone. Just like Booth, who is now watching a tribute video, or something like that. _

_But there's something underneath this. Almost like a sort of edge; like something's wrong. Hmmm. Gonna try to dismiss that… _

_Trying. Not working._

_Ooh, the phone. It's ringing. Ange. Better get that. More later._

_Lily_

**A/N: And just so you people know, I really, really love reviews. It's what motivates me to write more. So, review. There is one person in particular who gives the best reviews that I look forward to. And no, it's not Mila. So HA.**


	28. Chapter 28

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_This is the only way I know how to calm myself down because I AM FREAKING OUT HERE!!!!!!! _

_Ok, ok, ok. Deep breaths here, Lily. So, we come to the Jeffersonian to pick up everyone (minus Booth) for the awards thingy. Then, Brennan's phone rings. She gets this crazy look on her face and she grabs a recorder. A minute later, she tells us the Gravedigger has Booth. A serial kidnapper/murderer/really bad dude HAS BOOTH!!!!!!!!!_

_Angela told me the story of how about two years ago, Brennan and Hodgins were kidnapped by the Gravedigger, who buried them with less than a day's worth of oxygen. Thanks to them being absolute geniuses, and to Booth, who was there to save the day (as usual), they escaped (obviously). _

_So, now, apparently, there's some piece of evidence that's been stolen, and Brennan, Hodgins and some Vega guy who write a book about the Gravedigger are kinda under investigation. Apparently, that is also the ransom the Gravedigger demands. Normally, the ransom is reasonable and when delivered, loved ones are given back (I was told that it was different with Brenn and Hodgins, but whatever. We're not talking about them right now). _

_There's nothing for me to do here, they keep telling me. So I'm writing to keep myself from crying, which isn't working out so well. It was the look on Brennan's face… I mean, Hodgins is always suspicious, but Brenn… It was awful just to look at her. _

_I knew something was wrong! Earlier, when Brennan was getting ready… I _felt _something was wrong. And the feeling just got worse as we came, and then the look on Brenn's face… _

_This is agony, terror... I can't even describe it, but that's the general feeling of the lab._

_There _has _to be something I can do._

_Lily_


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Let me just first say that I cannot apologize enough for how late this is. Please don't hate me! But I was really busy, and then grounded. But, here it is. **

* * *

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_This is pure craziness. We took the evidence to where the Gravedigger told us to, and the place exploded! Nobody was hurt, but…_

_We gave the ransom and we still don't know where Booth is! _

_We have to rely on the small pieces of evidence and our own skills. _

_This is… ugh, I can't even describe it. Maddening. _

_Ange is calling me to help her._

_L_

* * *

**A/N: I'm about to post A LOT... so... You still love me? Right??**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: I've come to the conclusion that Lily is, like, seriously ADD. And, by the way… I'm sorry this is so late! **

* * *

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Guess who Brennan decided to call in for help? Somebody in the top three on my list of my least favorite people in the world. _

_Jared Booth. _

_I'll admit, he is risking a lot by doing what he's doing. Done. Whatever. _

_Okay, so, Vega, the guy who wrote the book about the Gravedigger, was, apparently, killed. Examining his remains could help us find Booth, which is the most important thing in the world (To us) right now (Duh). Anyway, since that evidence is still missing (Well, it was blown up, but whatever), the FBI has decided that we are not to work this case._

_The FBI includes Agent Perotta, who has been following us, by the way. That list of my least favorite people in the world? Perotta's number one. Jared's been bumped out because of what he's doing. _

_So, he pulled strings and did stuff, and now we have Vega's remains. They've been helpful. The Gravedigger will be injured, because Vega fought back. _

_You see, that kind of thing is helpful, but apparently the FBI didn't want us to know that tasty tidbit. _

_I actually have to say, we couldn't have done it without… him. Jared. _

_Lily_

* * *

**A/N: _Santa Vaca _(Holy Cow, lol), it's Chapter 30 already!**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: This is super short but I envisioned this while watching and it would be pretty important. **

"You got any kids?" Corporal Parker asked?

"Yeah. A- a son." And then an image of a certain teenage girl flashed through Booth's mind. "And a girl."

"They like you?" He asked half-jokingly.

"Yeah. Yeah, of course they like me." He held up his wrist. "They got me this watch."

"Oh. What are their names?"

"She's.. Lily. Her name is Lily Catherine." He wondered briefly where her name came from. "And his name is… uh, don't take this the wrong way…"


	32. Chapter 32

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_The Gravedigger is a _woman_! That Taffet lady, some legal-y person who took over the case. I didn't like her from the beginning, and now this is what my list of my three least favorite people in the world looks like:_

_Taffet/ The Gravedigger_

_Agent Perotta_

_Jared Booth_

_Eh, I'm kind of unsure about that .I _really _hate Perotta, and Jared is turning out not to be so bad. Hmm._

_I can easily do my list of my top five _favorite _people in the world:_

_1. Booth_

_2. Brennan_

_3. Angela_

_4. Parker_

_5. Zack- Hey, I know he's got issues, 'kay?_

_Anyway, moving on from my lists. We found out Taffet was the Gravedigger because she couldn't extend her elbow and she had broken ribs (I hit her. It felt good.), injuries the Gravedigger would have since Vega fought back. Then there was this conversation, which was pretty great:_

_Jared: Can you prove she's the Gravedigger?_

_Brennan: No._

_Jared: Okay. Good enough for me._

_Now, we have her tied up in a room, and she's not talking. Whatever. _

_I can't even begin to describe the hate I have for this woman. This journal entry has calmed e down _so _much._

_Lil_


	33. Chapter 33

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_I just had an interesting conversation with Jared. After all he had done, I felt bad for all the hate I still felt for him. I mean, I hated him at first because of his taking advantage of Booth, and I felt that was justifiable. But in these last hours or so, I haven't been able to shake this feeling of guilt for hating him and being almost hostile. _

_So I apologized._

_This was our conversation:_

_Me: Jared, I'm sorry._

_Jared: For what?_

_Me: Hating you. _

_Jared: Um, uh… okay… Apolo-_

_Me: I mean, I hated you for always taking advantage of Booth. But on this case, you've been nothing but helpful and nice to us. So, I'm sorry for hating you and being hostile. _

_Jared: (Looking confused) Apology accepted, Lily._

_Yeah._

_Lily_


	34. Chapter 34

_Dear Journal/ Sweets,_

_We know where Booth is! And Brennan is on a helicopter to go save him! (Ooh, that's an interesting situation… I mean, it's usually _him _saving _her_)._

_Anyway, we figured it out, and Jared set up for Brenn to go on the helicopter to rescue Booth. Jared himself has disappeared, and I… I don't know. Something's up._

_Oh, Brenn was so great earlier… We were in the room with that stupid Taffet lady, and Brenn was madder than I've ever seen her. We go to leave, and there's a briefcase by the door, so I go, "You should hit her with the briefcase." _

_I didn't think she heard me, but she hit her! _

_All right, I'm going to wait with Angela. _

_Peace out! (Yay, I can be happy again!)_

_Lily_


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: This takes place in the hospital, after Booth was rescued. I decided to do another family scene since you all enjoyed it before. I must say though, I have been very disappointed in the lack of reviews. If only two or three people are going to read and review, then I might as well just e-mail it to them. Please do not make me do that or establish a quota. So please review!!**

* * *

"Lily, do you want a drink?" Brennan asked, getting up from her chair next to Booth's hospital bed. "One of those sodas you like so much?"

"That sounds great. Thanks, Brenn." As the woman left, Lily half-smiled at Booth, almost apologetically. "How do you feel?"

He smiled back. "Better. A little sore, but tons better."

"Cool."

"I heard I owe you some thanks. Bones said you helped a lot catching the Gravedigger."

"I just pointed out that that Taffet lady," she said the name with disgust, "couldn't extend her elbow, and the Gravedigger would have had similar injuries from the fight with Thomas Vega."

"Don't turn into a Squint on me, now," he teased, a big, goofy grin on his face.

"Then I hit her to prove her ribs were broken," she stated simply.

He held out his hand for a high-five. "Go, Mini," he said, extremely proud of her.

She high-fived him and blushed some. "It felt good, I must say."

"That's my girl." They laughed for a second, and she was incredibly happy to have him back. "You know," he began, "something really weird went on when I was on that ship."

"Yeah?"

"I saw a… hallucination of sorts. Or a ghost. Corporal Teddy Parker… A man I lost in combat. But he helped me."

"That is weird." She agreed.

"You two would've liked each other. You're both a little crazy,"

Lily reached over and punched him in the arm. "Hey!"

Booth laughed at the teenager. "Anything else interesting happen while I was M.I.A.?"

Brennan returned with the two sodas, but remained out of sight, leaning against the doorway and watching her partner and foster daughter.

"I apologized to Jared," she heard the girl whisper.

"What?" Booth asked in confusion.

"I told him I was sorry for hating him," Lily explained.

"That was very mature of her," Brennan observed. "Wasn't it, Booth?" she prompted.

"Yeah. Yeah, it was," he agreed. His partner nodded and he turned back to Lily. "You were great these past few days." He nodded towards his wallet on the nearby table. "Go get a snack or something. Whatever you like." That was cue for 'I need to talk to Bones alone,' and all three people in the room knew this. Still, Lily left and Brennan settled back into her chair.

"You are much better at being proud of her," she said.

"It just takes practice, Bones."

"You're a better parent," she said quietly.

"I have experience, that's all. I mean, you're not too bad at this." He smiled his 'charm smile' at his partner.

"I've been thinking about you adopting her," she began slowly. "And, uh, if, like you said, I can co-sign-"

"Definitely," Booth said, nodding.

"And if our arrangements would stay mostly the same-"

"Of course."

"I might be okay with it. I'm still considering it, but... I wouldn't be too angry with you." She averted her eyes, sipping her soda.

"Hey, Bones," he said gently, causing her to look back at him. "It's entirely up to you and Lily, but before we even go to Lily, it's your decision." Brennan nodded and Booth looked thoughtful for a moment. "Did she really hit the Gravedigger to prove she had broken ribs?"

"Yes, she did."

He shook his head and in amusement. "She's like a Mini you, Bones."

She smiled. "Yeah, I guess she is."

* * *

**A/N: There was a little B/B moment there for you guys. 'The Hero in the Hold' was a really good episode, and so was 'The Princess and the Pear'. Those chapters will be up soon, if you review!**


	36. Chapter 36

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Oh, dear. That's mostly all I can say. Booth has a horrible backache (mainly caused by Brennan trying to fix his backache), and so he's stuck at home. Guess who Brennan's decided we're working with? Perotta. She says Perotta knows the Jeffersonian, which makes the _temporary _change easier. But we all strongly dislike the lady, to be honest._

_In other news, though only slightly less depressing, Fisher is the grad student working this case. He's _really _weird. Like, seriously. I'm just like, Dude. Stop talking. I much prefer Wendell. Well, Zack, but Wendell is my second choice. _

_Okay, so this victim was part of some thing called ImagiCon. Yeah. Sci-fi geeks. Fun._

_I'll be mostly staying home, helping Booth on this one, which is where I am now. I only anticipate being at the lab a little bit._

_Brennan feels bad for messing up Booth's back so badly. I feel bad for her, you know? She just wanted to help him. He's not upset with her, though. I don't see _that _happening. I've heard them talk on the phone a lot, and I know she'll be over as much as she can._

_I must say, Booth is absolutely hilarious on Vicodin. He's in a lot of pain, which makes me sad, but still. He just rambles on and on, so I've been laughing. I mean, there's nothing else to do here. There's nothing on TV during the day. I'm reading some anthropology books, and Booth was rambling on about me turning into a Squint. Hmmm._

_I don't think Booth likes Perotta, either. That makes... well, everyone. You would think she'd, you know, take a hint. She's supposed to be some great investigator. I mean, you would think she'd pick up on these things. Then again, Booth and Brennan are the best team of investigators (Well, in my opinion, but this is _my _journal), and they don't see the whole love thing._

_I need to stop hating on Perotta so badly. I'm starting to feel guilty. _

_Eh. _

_I think I'm going to go make lunch and then maybe write some poetry or something. _

_Peace out, _

_Lily_


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: A scene from the lab... Fisher is not cool enough for these lines, haha.**

Lily looked closely at the skull, which was nearly shattered. "Check this out. Mandibulary trauma extends downward, maxillary trauma upwards. Trauma to the molars extends bi-laterally."

"It's like the force radiated symmetrically from the center of her mouth," Brennan observed.

Lily knitted her eyebrows together. "It's like her face exploded."  
"Certainly nothing I've seen before." The woman smiled at her foster daughter. "Good job, Lily. Excellent use of terminology. You're learning very fast and doing really well."

"Really?" Lily asked, grinning at the praise. "Because, you know, it juts seems that the truth is farther away." She tilted her head to the side. "And is, like, laughing at us."

"The process of elimination is a big step in learning the truth," Brennan explained, amused. I've seen many unusual murder weapons, so the fact that I don't recognize this one rules out all of the others."

"Oh. Right."


	38. Chapter 38

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_That was exciting. So, Brenn and Sweets were driven off the road. They are both okay, thank God. We all kinda freaked out a little when we heard, but Booth is still really freaked out. He was struggling around the house, telling me he was going in because he had to be with Brennan; had to protect her, because Perotta wasn't doing her job (He considers his #1 job protecting her, and investigation is second priority). He called Brenn, and it was an interesting conversation. I only really heard what Booth said, but I could piece together the other side of the conversation._

_Booth was wondering why Perotta wasn't with her, and then he said something about being protected by a smurf ( I assumed he meant Sweets), and then he started rambling on and on about smurfs… (He couldn't think of the name of the one he was comparing Sweets too… Even though I was in the background, laughing and saying "Poppa Smurf! Poppa Smurf!") Anyway, then he was insisting he was coming in, and I think she told him not to, but he kept saying he was coming and he was pain free (while he was grimacing in pan), but she ultimately convinced him not to. But that wasn't the best part. _

_He asked to talk to Perotta._

_I almost wanted him to yell at her, but it was better. Kind of like this:_

_"The only reason I'm not coming in right now is because Bones told me not to. But if you let anything happen to her… Anything… With that silky black (I know, black??), and that soft skin…"_

_Praise Jesus for Vicodin._

_L_


	39. Chapter 39

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Case closed. The blacksmith did it. Yeah… Right._

_Anywho, so, Brennan is over here now with us, and she's looking at Booth's x-rays while they discuss this stupid, weirdo, geeky case (No offense, Sweets). Brennan is taking me home (To her—well, our—home) later._

_Haha, that's weird. I have two homes- Booth's and Brenn's. Two rooms, two parent-y people… It's like divorce, but not. Hmmm._

_All right, according to Brenn, Booth was misdiagnosed. She's trying to convince him to let her adjust his back. He's not so sure about that. I mean, I wouldn't be, either, since she landed him in the hospital._

_But of course he's letting her. He can't say no to her, or ever be mad at her. _

_Who's at the door? Oh, jeez. Perotta. You've got to be kidding me. Ooh, she brought chili… she can leave the food and just go, thank you very much. Haha, she totally misconstrued the whole adjustment thing. I'll admit, it looks a little strange. Aww, now she and Brennan are both saying that she has to leave and the other should stay… Bye, Perotta? Please?_

_Wow, they both left. Brennan just totally forgot me, sitting here on my bed, watching everything through the open door. _

_Booth is all sad that he's 'all alone'. Jeez, _everyone _forgot about me. I feel loved._

_I'm going to go make my presence known. _

_Lily_


	40. Chapter 40

A/N: ¡Mira! Chapter forty! Wow... This is the final 'Princess in the Pear' chapter. I'm sorry it's so late, but I' have been super busy. I hope you like it!

"I'm sorry I left in such a hurry, Lily," Brennan said as she drove herself and the girl home. "But Booth is wrong. I didn't forget you."

Lily sighed. "I'm sorry, Brenn, but you have to face the facts. You forgot me."

"That's not facts. I did n-"

"Yeah... you did," the teenager interrupted. "But don't worry. Booth forgot I was there, too."

"Booth is on painkillers, which is a viable excuse. I wouldn't have an excuse if I had forgotten you, which, may I clarify, I did not."

Lily shook her head. "Right." She paused for a moment. "But I guess you had other things on your mind..."

"Like what?" Brennan asked, hearing the tone in the girl's voice.

"I was thinking more of a 'whom'. How's Perotta been lately?"

Something flashed across her face. " I am sure Agent Perotta is doing just fine," she said, frowning.

Lily smiled to herself. "I guess she is."

"Lily Catherine, are you suggesting I'm jealous?"

Lily shrugged. "Are you?"

"Why are you suggesting I'm jealous of Agent Perotta?"

"Maybe not _jealous _exactly, but...  
"But what?"

"Never mind, Brennan," Lily said, wondering how the anthropologist didn't get it.

"No. _What _are you talking about?"

"Okay, I'd think Perotta should be jealous of you, but you could be jealous, in a sense, as well."

"Why would Perotta be jealous of me?"

"Booth."

"Booth?"

"Booth."

"Booth?"

"Yes, Brennan. Booth."

"I don't understand."

The teenager sighed in impatience. "She should be, and probably is, jealous of you because Booth is _your _partner, and he lo- cares about _you_, and not Perotta."

"You think she wants Booth to care about her?"

"She came over to the man's house and brought him chili. Clearly, she wants _something._"

"Was the chili good?" Brennan asked.

"Yes, the chili was good, but that's way beside the point."

"Well, then, what _is_ the point? As a scientist, Lily, you need to report your findings concisely."

"Okay," Lily took a deep breath. "Perotta is jealous of you because Booth cares about you, and you are upset because she likes Booth."

"What?"

"And that's what distracted you so much you forgot me," Lily concluded.

"I didn't forget-"

"Brennan, you did. You were so determined to not show that you were upset about Perotta coming over, you forgot me at Booth's. I don't know why, though. You don't have to worry about Booth and Perotta."

"I don't?" the anthropologist asked.

"No. Trust me, you don't."

"Not that I would care," she added.

"You don't have to be defensive," Lily sung.

"I'm not defensive."

"You've been defensive this whole conversation."

The exchange had continued until they entered the living room, Lily tossing her book bag onto a chair and Brennan and going into the kitchen, pulling out pots and pans.

"I'm going to make dinner," she said. "Macaroni and cheese okay?"

"Sure," Lily sighed, knowing the discussion was probably over, or, at the very least, being avoided. "I'm not upset you forgot me, though," she added for good measure.

"I didn't for-"

"Brenn, just make the macaroni and cheese," she smiled.

**A/N: Haha. I like their bickering. They're both a little ADD, which makes it even better. Okay, so it's not **_**my **_**favorite chapter, but I want to know what **_**you **_**think. Please review, and I'll start working on 'The Bones That Foam'. **


	41. Chapter 41

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Getting married on a hot air balloon and then bungee jumping off of it is definitely on my list of things never to do. First of all, that's just weird. Secondly, I don't like heights. And, apparently, there is a risk of coming face to face with a foaming corpse. And making the alarms go off in a certain lab way too many times. Argh, it was freaking annoying. _

_Anyway, Brennan has decided that from now on I work with Angela instead of with the body. She promised, however, that she would get me to work with her and the bones often. But she told me to hang out with Angela and help her. We did some stuff with the Angelator (Which I still call the Angela-tor, baha). I'm not complaining. I have fun with Ange, and the work _is _interesting. _

_Anyway, the bones of the victim, Alex Newcomb, were _foaming_. Yeah. We were losing about 12% bone mass per hour. This case sucked. Mostly, the foaming bones meant it was close to impossible to determine cause of death. When Vincent Nigel-Murray discovered the bones were foaming, the alarms went off for the first time and Cam didn't let anyone near the body for a while. When she let Hodgins and Vincent back at it, they set it on fire. They blamed the corpse, claiming there was a 'pop' and a 'whoosh'. Right…_

_Hodgins proclaimed himself 'King of the Lab'. It made me sad and yet happy. It made me _really _miss Zack, but I am glad Hodgins is happy enough to do experiments and call himself 'King'. Vincent, being our resident random, useless fact blurter, pointed out that most royals are messed up in the head because of inbreeding. Like that would ruin it for Hodgins. _

_Anyway, he found 'Lust Dust' on the victim, meaning the victim recently had a lap dance. So, as Brennan told me, they went to a strip club, where she paid for the woman who gave Alex Newcomb a lap dance to give a Booth a lap dance. Ugh, I don't want to think about that. Moving on…_

_Anyway, shortly before that, Brennan mentioned she wanted to do an interrogation, so after they got back from the strip club was when we had our lovely little session with you, Sweets. I learned some interesting stuff, like ill is not an emotion. And I like your angry face, by the way. That was when the fire happened and the stupid alarm went off _again_._

_We identified the foaming bones as the result of a corrosive that produces hydrogen gas (hence the fire) when it breaks down calcium. Hodgins so intelligently pointed out that it had to be hydrofluoric acid. Which was kind of a 'duh' thing, actually. Anyway, he poured antacid on it to stop the foaming (Cam said, "You think he suffered from indigestion?" which was funny). However, that just ended up petrifying the body and _making the alarms go off_. Rawr. I hate that thing. _

_After that, Brennan attempted her first interrogation. The key word here being 'attempted'._

_I was with Angela, and I must say, she is the greatest. We were playing around with the Angelator, and she goes, "They're stupid. Come with me, Sweetie." She walks up to the group gathered around the corpse and says to them, "How come nobody says, 'Gee, Angela, this looks impossible. But maybe _you're _the one to solve the problem'?" The new stuff we've been doing on the Angelator worked. Go us! _

_Then, Brennan started talking about the interrogation, and how she really wants to be able to do it. Apparently she's been to seventy-four interrogations with Booth: forty-two in the room, thirty-two observing. I'm not as shocked by how many that is as by the fact that she's counted._

_It was great, though, because Angela was telling Brennan that Booth is smarter than he lets on. He just knows she likes to be the smart one, so he gives her that. So true. And she said that maybe Brenn should let Booth have the people skills. It was sweet._

_And she called you "Baby Boy Shrink", baha. _

_I love Angela. In fact, I think I'm going to go talk to her. _

_Peace out,_

_Lily_


	42. Chapter 42

A/N: This is something different for you guys. A scene between Lily and Angela. I know this is late, but please enjoy and review!

"Hey, Ange." Lily leaned on the artist's desk. "What's up?"

"Trying to get the gross-ness of this case out of my head."

"Oh." The girl hopped up and sat on the desk. "I'd like my ears to stop ringing from the stupid alarms."

Angela leaned forward. "The story is quite fascinating, though. I mean, wife tries to save her husband's job, gets caught by her brother-in-law and kills him so her husband doesn't find out what she did for him."

"Don't forget the body being discovered by a bungee jumping bride and groom," Lily pointed out.

The woman wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, this story isn't very romantic, is it?"

"Uh, that would be a negative."

Angela laughed. "Not a good bedtime story, either, huh?"

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. I'm pretty sleepy."

"Yeah. It's been a long few days."

The teenager looked around, listening for sounds in the lab. "Where are Booth and Brenn?"

"Out."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Out? Like, to where?" She pointed to herself and out into the lab. "Because, clearly, they want to be alone."

"They went out to dinner."

"To the diner? Because that's so not cool.

Angela laughed. "No, Sweetie. They went to that bar they went to the other day. That Indian guy from the car dealership, Buddy, let Booth borrow that sweet sports car. They're going to eat and then drive."

"Oh." She grinned.

"Uhm-hum."

"That's cool and all, that they're, you know, out together, but uh..." Lily looked around. "Am I just supposed to hang out here?"

Angela shrugged. "Well, if you're still craving fries from the diner..."

Lily grabbed her coat. "Lets go."

As they walked through the lab, however, Lily ran, literally, into Booth. "Whoa, Mini." He grabbed her shoulder. "Where are you headed so fast?"

"Diner. Angela and I were going to get dinner while you two were. Why are you back so early? And where's Brenn?"

"All right, so, Brennan wanted to drive the car, and I told her not to, but-"

"You can't tell her no." Booth thumped her on the back of the head. "Ouch!" she complained.

"Anyway, and then I told her to go gently, but when does she ever listen to me? So, anyway, she has gotten herself causing a traffic jam."

"And you left her?"

"Well, you know, I figured I'd make her see how she should've listened me, and I'd come get you, so you can laugh, too. I thought you'd find it funny."

"Wow. Um, sure. Let's go get her. But can we, uh, go get some fries at the diner?"

Booth ruffled the girl's hair. "Sure, Mini. Fries and a soda it is."


	43. Chapter 43

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_As you know, Angela and Roxie are no more. As you know, Angela and Hodgins slept together. _

_Yay._

_The whole Angela/Roxie thing was awkward, to say the least, and I know Angela and Hodgins belong together._

_Angela's life is so crazy. _Angela _is crazy. Which is why everyone loves her. She's totally unpredictable, so you're never bored around her. Her moods are contagious. You can't be sad when Angela is happy. We'll never understand her, which is so cool._

_Anyway, I'm interested to say how all of this will play out. Let's just say lab gossip is getting _very _interesting. _

_In other news, we have a new grad student. His name is Arastoo Vasiri and he's Muslim. He does the whole praying-five-times-a-day-while-facing-East-and-bowing thing. I've never seen anyone do that. We were all kind of secretly making fun of him, but we like him. He's really sweet, and freaking awesome. He's my second-favorite Grad-of-the-Week. I am remaining loyal to Wendell._

_Arastoo did something _really_ cool. Cam and Brennan were fighting because Brennan wants the bones and Cam is fighting for the flesh. They've been icy towards each other. But Arastoo/Muslim Guy has a brilliant solution to let us look at the bones without actually looking at the bones._

_He took all of the monitors of the forensic platform and made a virtual skeleton. _

_I'm going to go look at it. _

_Lily_


	44. Chapter 44

A/N: I am sorry that these chapters are so late, but I hope you enjoy this. It is sappy, but necessary. I hope you like it.

"Lily?" Booth called as he sat on the couch, turning off the TV.

"Yeah, Booth?" She walked out of the bathroom in sweat pants and a t-shirt, fresh out of the shower.

"Come here, please." He motioned to the spot on the couch next to him. "I want to talk to you."

She did as she was told, taken aback by his serious tone of voice.

"You, uh... So, this case. Those girls... They're throwing their lives away. You know that, right."

She nodded. "It's sad."

"Yeah. Those girls were smart, athletic, talented... like you. But they made bad decisions. Decisions with consequences they'll have to deal with for the rest of their lives. I don't think they understand that. I, uh, I want to make sure _you _do. So that you don't make the same bad decisions. Because there are serious consequences. They had so much potential, and they threw it all away. You have just as much potential, and I don't want to have to watch you throw it away, too."

"I won't, Booth."

"And that, uh, father... the kid? He didn't care about his children. He didn't care about those girls. He only wanted to claim that he slept with those girls. And, it's sad, but real guys are like that, Lily. You count on them. I mean, he's abandoning his kids, and he's by far not the only guy who will do that. Those kids are going to grow up without a father."

"And it's going to suck for them. It won't matter as much that their mothers love them. They're just going to know that their father didn't want them. They'll feel abandoned and not good enough because their father doesn't want them."

Booth looked into the chocolate brown eyes nearly identical to his own. "Is that how you fell, Mini? Do you ever think you're not good enough?"

Lily suddenly became very interested in the hem of her t-shirt. "Sometimes I think, you know, my mom and dad didn't want me and there must be a reason. My foster parents keep giving me up because they don't want me. No one wants me, so I figure, hey, I must not be good enough to be someone's kid."

"No," Booth said firmly. "Lily Catherine, don't you _ever _think that, not for a second. You are smart, and beautiful, and talented. Your parents are missing out. They gave up something wonderful. Bones wants you around. Zack wanted you around. Hodgins wants you around. Angela wants you around. Even Cam wants you around." He smiled what Brennan called his 'charm smile'. "Mini, _I _want you."

"Really?"

"Mini. Don't you ever doubt that for a second. The day you came walking into the Jeffersonian was one of our luckiest days. You want parents? You've got Bones. You've got me. Always." He was startled to see silent tears running down her cheeks. Gently, he wrapped her in his arms. "Don't cry, Sweetheart, you don't have to cry."


	45. Chapter 45

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_I just can't believe those girls. They have incredible potential and they're just throwing their lives away. That one girl, Alyssa or whatever, the "Alpha Female", had to throw away a scholarship and didn't even care. She seemed _happy_. I mean, I understand why she said it was horrible how her life was being planned for her. I understand wanting to be in control of what's going on. But throwing your life away isn't any sort of control._

_She's one thing, how her pregnancy was an accident, but the other girls? They _chose _that. _Chose _to throw their lives away, their futures away, in high school. Being a mother is awesome, but there's _plenty _of time for that._

_And the father? He totally didn't care. He's the father of four kids, and Booth said the only responsibility he wanted to claim was that he slept with all those girls. _

_He doesn't know what it's like to grow up without people claiming responsibility for them. He doesn't know the pain of feeling abandoned. So when he doesn't claim his children, when they feel abandoned and not good enough, it won't affect him._

_But they'll feel it for the rest of their lives. _

_I told Booth all of that, and he asked me if I ever felt like I wasn't good enough. Sometimes I do, because I figure that if my parents didn't want me and if foster families keep giving me up, then maybe I'm not good enough to belong to someone. He told me that I shouldn't ever think that, that everyone wants me around. He said the day I came walking into the Jeffersonian was one of their luckiest days. And then… Then he said that if I wanted parents, I had Brennan, and especially him. Always._

_I started crying._

_Lily _


	46. Chapter 46

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Parker, Booth, and I were totally _just _at that wildlife preserve. It's really cool there. There are monkeys. Or is it monkies? Hmmm... Plus, Parker had this big book about animals, so we've been spouting facts like a few Vincent Nigel-Murray's. _

_Anyway, a man was found murdered, and, apparently, the tiger had been eating him. Ewww. The victim was Dr. Andrew Welton, who (gasp) was Cam's fiancée. Wow._

_Seriously, though, how come no one in this place ever gets married? They get engaged left and right, but no one ever follows through (Okay, Angela did that one time in Fiji, but she was drunk, so it doesn't count). These Squints (And Booth) have some major relationship issues. I see where you're at, Sweets. Whatever._

_Clark is working with us this time. He's cool. My third favorite Grad-of-the-Week, I think. He cracks me up because he'll switch the topic if we stray from talking only about work. He actually did reveal that he is a zoo-hater and a vegan, but said it was relevant to the case. _

_Because Angela has taken a vow of celibacy, she keeps making comments, like how Clark is cute. I love Angela, really. _

_Cam is really sad, though. She lived with this guy for two years and was a mother to his daughter, Michelle. So, Cam is working with Booth, and Brennan is mostly staying at the lab. I guess I'm okay with it, because this case is so personal for Cam._

_Cam was talking about feelings with Brennan. She said that Brennan trusts Booth because of what she feels. Brennan said that she trusts Booth because of past actions, but Cam said that she also trusted him because of faith in the future. Brennan didn't argue with that._

_It's amazing how much you overhear when you're quiet. People will forget you're there and just talk about whatever. _

_They found a person of interest, and I heard, Sweets, that you and Angela hypnotized him. I heard it was very interesting._

_Oh, and then Angela said, "Don't worry, Clark. I won't eat you". Oh, so many Angela-isms. _

_I also heard why Cam doesn't do interrogations. "Most of the time, I just want to beat them until they tell me what I want to know." Brennan says that sometimes hitting works. At any rate, it makes me feel better._

_Oh, wow. I'm writing on the forensic platform, and I just heard that whoever killed Dr. Welton tried to save him. I need some more information._

_Later,_

_Lily_


	47. Chapter 47

A/N: I wanted this posted last night, but my computer is possessed by Satan, so I am typing this for the second time and posting it. Anyway, I decided to do something a little different this time. I have rewritten the "Girl Talk" scene and put Lily in it. I hope you enjoy this. Please review!

__"So what did Michelle say to you?" Angela asked Cam as the two women, along with Brennan and Lily, sat at the table on the second floor of the lab.

"She said that, uh, I wasn't good enough for her father, and that's why he saw other women."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Welton cheated on you?"

"That's why I left."

"Did that bother you?" Dr. Brennan asked, genuinely confused.

"Sweetie," Angela began, "How many times do I have to tell you that most people don't like to be cheated on?"

"The only people who don't mind have just… given up," Cam sighed.

"Or," Angela said carefully, "Are very, very, rational and above those archaic notions of monogamy."

"Right, yes, of course," Cam corrected herself. "I am not quite evolved enough."

"Okay," Lily said, "I don't have much experience with this, seeing as I'm, like, thirteen, but if Welton cheated on you, then he may have cheated on other women, too."

"Probably was," Cam agreed. "The only person he was ever faithful to was Michelle."

"There you go." Angela leaned back in her chair. "He was playing the field, and somebody probably nuked him for it."

"How do you know?" Brennan asked.

Angela looked to Lily and Brennan. "Despite the fact that I would love to have my legs wrapped around one right now, men are awful."

"Hey," Hodgins greeted, walking up to the group. All four women threw him death glares. "Whoa. What'd I do?"

"You're a man," Lily accused.

"I have information."

"Go ahead," Brennan prompted.

"Uric acid on the victim's clothes is feline, but it's not tiger pee. Sediment composition and pH levels suggest that it's from a lion."

"Are you aware that lionesses do all the hunting?" Cam asked.

"Yes, the males simply populate and eat what the females catch," Brennan continued.

Angela narrowed her eyes. "And when they get cranky, they _eat _the cubs."

"Men," Lily finished, and the older woman nodded at her in approval.

"Wow," Hodgins said. "Before I run for my life, the particles I found in the wounds around the femoral artery, the ones I thought might be mica, are scales."

"Fish?" Lily asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

"No, snake. I can maybe have a species by tomorrow."

"Hey," Angela asked, "You wanna stay and have a drink?" Cam snapped her fingers in the artist's face, and she changed her tune. "Oh, yeah. We hate men."

"I'm gonna go," he said. "Now."

He does have a terrific butt," Angela said.

Brennan smiled. "Maybe that is why you're always asking him to leave."

Lily sighed. "Okay, I'm confused. Do we like men or not?"

"All right, Sweetie," Angela explained. "Men are great on occasion, but as a whole species, they suck. I mean, there are some great guys around here, but in the real world, you are going to have to be super careful. Men will lie, cheat, and break you heart."

"It's best just to stay away," Cam advised. "At least until you find the one who won't. One that will take care of you."

"Like Booth," Brennan said, and Lily turned to her.

"Oh, really?"

"I just meant that Booth takes care of us, which he does."

"Right…" Lily said, and Cam and Angela laughed.

**A/N: I loved that scene. And guess what? Today is my birthday! =] So, it will also be Lily's birthday. With the help of GryffindorPrincess23 (Who's birthday is tomorrow!), I am writing a birthday chapter, which will be up soon. For my birthday, I would like one of three things. 1, a good Logan/Wheeler story (There are only eleven. **_**Eleven.**_** Come on people!). 2, a good B/B story, or, 3, a story with Lily (Mila suggested I start a Lily community, so I may just do that). If you could care less about my birthday, you still have to review. I am legally requiring you to leave me a review. You don't want to break the law, do you?**


	48. Chapter 48

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Bones characters, and I have no rights to any of the movies they watch, though I do own a few of them (On DVD, that is). I don't own Vera Bradley or Sperry's, though I do own several Vera Bradley pieces and a pair of Sperry's. Those are the best shoes ever, haha. I don't own anything by the awesome Paul Ekman. **

**A/N: I wanted to post this last night after church, but I ended up going to my friend's house until one in the morning. So, you get this special chapter today and a special Easter chapter tomorrow. Enjoy!**

"Happy birthday, Sissy!" Parker shouted, bouncing on Lily's bed.

"Mhm," she mumbled sleepily, looking at her watch. "Jeez, Park, it's six in the morning."

"Daddy said that Bones said that we could come over extra early and wake you up and eat cake for breakfast!"

She yawned. "Oh, right. Of course."

"I'm going to go make sure the cake is perfect!" The young boy ran from the room, nearly colliding with Booth and Brennan.

"Happy birthday, Mini," Booth greeted.

"This," Lily said, "Is an ungodly hour to be awake. Especially on your birthday."

"But it's only six," Brennan argued. "You normally get up much earlier than this during the week."

"But it's the weekend," the girl groaned. "And," she mumbled, "I may have possibly been up until one in the morning texting Lucy."

"Lucy is your friend that is spending the night, right?" Brennan asked.

Lily nodded and Booth looked at her excitedly. "Are we buying lots of junk food and renting stupid funny movies?"

"Of course!"

"I am going to make my macaroni and cheese for dinner," Brennan announced.

"Yes!" Booth exclaimed.

"Hey!" Parker shouted from the kitchen. "Can we eat cake now?"

* * *

A knock sounded at the door, and Lily jumped up from her and Parker's game of Battleship. "That must be Lucy!"

When she opened the door, however, Angela greeted her with a hug and a "Happy birthday", handing her a gift bag.

"Hey, Angela. Thanks."

"You sound surprised to see me," the artist said.

"Oh. I just thought my friend Lucy was here."

"A sleepover?" Angela asked. Lily smiled and the woman pointed at the gift bag. "Open it."

"Oh my gosh, Ange. This Vera Bradley purse is so cute!"

"You like it?"

Lily hugged her. "I love it. Hey, Brenn, look what Ange got me!"

* * *

Another knock sounded at the door a short time later, and, once again, Lily jumped up to answer it.

"Hey, kiddo," Hodgins smiled. "Happy birthday."

"Hey, Hodgins."

He handed her a box. "Check this out."

She tore off the paper as Parker came running, helping her rip. "Sperry's?" she asked in disbelief. "How did you know I wanted these?"

"I saw you looking online at the lab."

She hugged him. "Thanks a million, Hodgins."

"Oh," he said, handing her a small gift bag. "Sweets wanted me to give you this."

"A book?" Parker asked, sounding disappointed that it was nothing he and Lily could play with together. So far, her presents didn't seem very fun.

"_Emotions Revealed _by Paul Ekman. Sweet."

* * *

Once again, someone knocked on the door. Lily shoved another nacho in her mouth and went to answer it, figuring maybe it was finally Lucy. Instead, Cam stood at the door.

"Happy birthday." She handed her a gift bag.

"Come on in," Lily said. "Everyone's here."

"I can only stay a minute," the pathologist said, waving to the people inside. "But I wanted to give you this."

"Whatja get? Whatja get?" Parker asked excitedly, running up to Lily.

"Jewelry." She turned to the crowd inside. "A necklace, earrings and bracelets that all match." She hugged the woman in front of her. "Thanks, Cam."

"I have to go, but I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Finally, the doorbell rang, and Lily and Parker jumped up to answer it. "This _has _to be Lucy," Lily said. "I really don't think there's any one else to show up."

She opened the door, and there stood her friend, accompanied by Max.

"Lucy!" Lily greeted, hugging her friend. "Max."

"Dad?" Brennan asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to wish Lily a happy birthday, and I ran into this young lady here, who claims to be her friend." He handed her two notebooks with patterned covers and a ten-dollar bill. "Sorry I couldn't wrap it all."

"That's fine, Max. Both of you, come in, come join the party."

"Here, Lils," Lucy said, handing her a gift. "I thought maybe we could use this tonight."

"Hey, Ange, it's a manicure and pedicure set," Lily told the woman. "We are going to have fun with this."

* * *

It was near seven, and Lily and her friends had just finished watching _Undercover Brother_. "I think I'm going to head out," Hodgins announced.

"Bye, Conspiracy Brother," Lily teased. "Thanks for coming."

"What else do we have to watch?" Booth asked.

"Um, _Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman, _which is my all time favorite movie."

"That man in it, the one who plays Orlando… Yum," Angela said.

"I am with you there, Sistah," Lily smiled. "Plus, we have _Robin Hood: Men in Tights, _and _The Princess Bride_."

"Are they funny?" Hodgins asked.

"Of course," Lily told him.

"Hmm. Then I just might stay a little while longer."

* * *

It was about one in the morning, and the only ones still at Brennan's were Brennan, Lily, Angela, and Lucy. Brennan was doing Lucy's nails while Angela straightened Lily's hair, something she had been doing for an hour already. Lily had picked out some new CD's for her birthday, and they were playing on Brennan's rather nice stereo system.

"What time are we going to go to sleep?" Brennan asked.

"Sweetie, it's a slumber party," Angela explained. "We don't."

"Oh." She shrugged. "Lily, am I doing your nails when Angela's done?"

"Yes ma'am, please," Lilly smiled.

"And I am going to curl Lucy's hair," Angela announced.

"Booth and Parker are supposed to bring us breakfast later," Brennan told the girls. "They'll stay until Lucy goes home, because you are going to Easter Mass, apparently."

"I know. I got a dress a few days ago."

* * *

"Good morning," Booth greeted. He looked at all four girls. "Wow. Makeovers last night, huh?"

"Of course," Angela said.

"Right. Okay, so who wants French toast?"

* * *

"Ugh," Lucy sighed. "My mom's here." She hugged her friend. "Bye, Lils. Happy birthday." She turned to Lily's guardian. "Thank you for having me over, Dr. Brennan."

"You'll have to come back soon," Brennan nodded, and Lily smiled.

"You wanna grab lunch at the diner?" Booth asked Brennan. "I'll take Lily to my house after that."

"Sure."

"Sissy," Parker exclaimed. "Tomorrow, we'll wake up, and the Easter Bunny will have brought us baskets! They'll be candy, and toys, and we're gonna paint Easter eggs tonight! We have to go to church tomorrow, but then we might hunt eggs, and it's going to be so much fun!"

**A/N: Yayyy! Next is the Easter chapter, but I hoped you like this chapter. We watched **_**Undercover Brother **_**last night, and it is hilarious. The other three movies are some of my favorites. As for what **_**I**_** got for my birthday… Not enough reviews. So, be a day late, but still make me happy and please review!!**


	49. Chapter 49

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Today is Easter. Last night, Parker, Booth, and I colored Easter eggs, and today we woke up and Booth had made Easter baskets for us. We got a lot of candy and little things, like racecars for Parker and nail polish and lip-gloss for me. We also got some sidewalk chalk and a soccer ball that we'll use later. _

_We went to Mass this morning, and it was really long. We had to do the whole Lord's Supper/ Communion/ Passover thing, and the wine was disgusting. Also, Parker and I were on either side of Booth, and he had to get onto us because we were so bored we were playing Rock, Paper, Scissors across his lap. _

_Booth said something about me getting confirmed, but he didn't press the issue. I might not be here long enough to complete it. I mean, a year is a long run in a foster home, and I've been with Brenn for almost a year and a half._

_After the service, people kept looking at Parker and I, telling Booth what precious kids he had, blah, blah, blah. I just wanted to get home and out of my dress, which was pretty, but not extremely comfortable._

_Finally, we're home, and Parker and I have been eating too much candy. Booth took it away and told us we could have more later. He's making lunch now, and we're going to go to the park after we eat. I think he's done now, so I'm going to go eat._

_Happy Easter!_

_Lily_


	50. Chapter 50

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_This is quite possibly the grossest thing I have ever seen. I am officially scarred for life. Ugh._

_Vincent Nigel-Murray is working with us again. He's pretty cool. But, still, I miss Wendell._

_Booth and Brennan, well, more so the Squints, found out that the victim was some sort of Super Scientist. She worked at the Collar Institute, which is a very advanced research lab. The people are, according to Booth, smarter than the Squints and very creepy. According to Brennan, they're brilliant and will make a great impact on the world and blah, blah, blah. Booth admitted to feeling stupid. Poor Booth._

_Angela's dad is in town to seek revenge on Hodgins. Now, _that _is interesting, I saw Angela's dad when Brenn, Ange and I were at the diner and we saw him out of the window. He looks like a pretty cool guy, but he also looks scary. If I were Hodgins, I think I would take Angela's advice and leave town. I'm just saying._

_Hodgins and Vincent were going to fire a cannon at a dummy to, as they say, demonstrate how a frozen body would shatter if hit by a meteorite. Brennan told them that their experiment is pointless because the meteorite is at the Collar Institute. Like that was going to stop them. Yep, they were _actually _stupid enough to fire a cannon inside. I saw Booth slam Brennan up against the wall. Uhm-hum. Then, the alarms went off. Booth and Brennan ran out, hand in hand, leaving this mess to Cam, who grounded Hodgins and Vincent._

_I hate the alarms._

_Lily_


	51. Chapter 51

**A/N: Because you know how much I like changing things up, I put this in Lily's PoV, first-person present-tense. Please tell me what you think of this style!**

Hodgins drops the frozen chicken, all of us expecting it to shatter into a thousand flying chicken pieces. Instead, the chicken bounces like a rubber ball, and Cam, Angela, and I step back. The chicken whizzes by and delivers a glancing blow to the side of my head. I stagger a little, falling to the floor.

Cam and Angela run over to me and Hodgins flies down the stairs, stopping in front of me. I hold up my hand to keep from being crowded, my head already pounding. I'm glad Booth and Brennan aren't here. Hodgins already has one person seeking revenge on him.

"Oh, my God!" Hodgins splutters. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"Hodgins, you hit me in the head with a frozen chicken. I'm going to- I'm going to eat you." I glance around at the concerned faces and take the hand Vincent offers me, pulling myself up. "I'm fine." Leaving the crowd behind me, I head into Brennan's office, a headache splitting my brain. I go straight for the painkillers in the top drawer and down them dry. I plan on crashing on the couch until there's some offer of food.

I am sorely tempted to lock the door.

**A/N: I like that chapter. It makes me laugh. I am starting a new story with poems Lily has written. Check out my author's page. =]**


	52. Chapter 52

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Booth and Brennan were an inch away from death. Again._

_Apparently, there's this machine thing that shattered Dr. Sidman's bones. Milton, the murderer, locked Booth and Brennan in it and turned it on. It should have melted their brains in seconds, but Brennan knew they had to make high-pitched noises to combat the machine, and then, Booth shot the window in the door. Dr. Collar heard the shots and saved them._

_Thank God._

_After that, they caught Milton. But I was thinking about what would happen if Dr. Collar hadn't heard Booth's shots. What would I do without them? What would any of us do without them? Of course, I'd go back to different foster homes for four more years, but I've had this vision of being able to visit, like before. Would I, without Booth and Brenn?_

_Will I anyway?_

_I guess the important thing is to be glad that they're all right and stop thinking about the What-Ifs. I need to just focus on the Right Now._

_We're at the Founding Fathers and Brennan is saying something about intelligence. I think I should probably listen._

_Lily _


	53. Chapter 53

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Okay, this case is definitely grosser that the last one. Diane Sidman may have looked like Chili con Carne, but Meriel Mitsakos was completely flat. A body should _not _look like that. It's just wrong. I mean, she was run over- twice- and then squished flat inside cardboard boxes. And her blood seeped through into a likeness of the Virgin Mary. Holy Mother of God. Literally. We also found out that she was Bridezilla. Ugh. I hate hearing about people like that. I mean, it's the marriage that counts, not the wedding. Right?_

_Wendell is here! Yayyy! Wendell is awesome. He's cool because he's less _

_Squint-y. He's all normal and funny and really cute. He's always nice to me and I help him a lot when he's around. He's my favorite Grad-Student-of-the-Week. =]_

_Bridezilla was also playing around on some dating thing called "Date or Hate". Hodgins, apparently, also does this thing. Wow. That's just weird, and kind of un-Hodgins. It was so funny though when we found out Hodgins was doing this thing- it was so random. I was crying from laughing so hard._

_Apparently, the guy who ran the thing killed Meriel because he was upset that he was everything she said she wanted and yet she would hardly even look at him. One more argument for my considering never dating. I'll just be the Crazy Cat Lady that everyone makes fun of but who doesn't have any problems. With all the crap that I see every day, that is starting to look better and better. _

_Bridezilla also had her toes surgically shortened. What the heck? Apparently, she'd been dreaming of her wedding day since forever, and it had to be _perfect_. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. And really creepy and thinking about it kind of makes my toes hurt. Ugh._

_Also, Booth and Brenn saw Daisy Wick, former Grad-of-the-Week and Sweets' current girlfriend trying on a wedding dress with some man. Booth didn't want Sweets to know, but Brennan told him anyway. It turns out she was _not _cheating, but Sweets was so sad when he thought she was. He was moping around and it made me very sad, too. Poor Sweets. He reminds me of a lost baby animal sometimes. I wonder if anyone else gets that vibe. _

_There you go, Sweets. You're a baby animal. Get what you want out of that, but that's just what you remind me of occasionally. _

_Brennan told me to order a pizza and then she left for Booth's. It was very sudden and I was just like, "Bye…" I don't care, though. She can go to Booth's whenever she wants, haha. I'll be perfectly content here; especially if I know they're together. _

_I was going to stay up and wait for Brenn, but it's kind of late and I'm tired. I think I'm going to hit the sack._

_Lily_


	54. Chapter 54

"Good morning," Lily greeted as her foster mother walked into the living room. "What time did you get home last night?" She looked at the woman and then shook her head. "Whatever. Doesn't matter."

"What are you reading?" Brennan asked, looking at the thick book in Lily's hands.

"That book Sweets got me for my birthday, the one about emotions."

"You know that psychology is-"

"Completely unreliable and a waste of intellect. Right. But it _is _interesting. In fact, a lot of these man's studies seem to be almost anthropological. He was studying different cultures to find out if facial expressions were innate."

"Right. Did you eat breakfast already?"

"Yes. Do you want anything?"

Brennan shrugged. "No, I don't think so." She sighed and looked back at the girl. "What do you think about marriage?"

"I think that Bridezilla should've been more focused on her marriage than her wedding."

"I mean marriage in general. And her name was Meriel Mitsakos, not Bridezilla," she gently corrected. Apparently the anthropologist never listened to Lily and Angela's conversations.

"Meriel. Um…" She looked around. "I think that it's sweet and can be important if you decide to make it work. I think you have to try at it, that you can't just quit."

"But you believe in marriage."

"Yeah. I do. I believe that when you find the person you love and who loves you unconditionally, you should commit to them."

"Wow, you're fourteen and you have a marriage theory. Great." Brennan smiled. "That was a compliment. I think."

"Well, then, thank you." She shrugged. "I believe that humans are meant to be with one person. I'm not into that love at first sight and you have that one special person out there that's meant for you, but I believe that people should be with the person they're happy with and spend the rest of their life with them. But maybe I'm an under-evolved hopeless romantic. Or just fourteen."

"I told Booth that I know that jealously is completely irrational, yet I've seen it, and… And I've felt it, too."

"Who do you have to be jealous of?"

"Angela. Hodgins. Cam. Booth."

"Perotta?"

Brennan shook her head. "It's just, they want to lose themselves in one person. They want to fall in love and get married. They can believe in that. I try not to, my head says it's irrational, yet I find myself wanting to believe it, too."

"Oh," Lily said quietly.

"Booth said one day I would find that person. He said that I would."

_Um, duh, _the girl thought. _He is the person… _"I'm sure Booth is right. After all, his thing is people. He believes in you."

"Thanks, Lily," Brennan said, walking away.

"Right. No problem," she called after her, slightly confused.

**A/N: Many people were complaining about chapter 5 being homophobic, and I know a few people even stopped reading this because of that. I tried to fix it while still maintaining the original message of the chapter. Please take the time to read it and leave me a review telling me what you think! Also, please review this chapter as well! I have two hundred reviews and I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You are amazing!**


	55. Chapter 55

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_We finally had a break from the gross remains. That is always super-exciting. This guy was only bones. No Chili con Carne, no rotting flesh, no flatness. Just nice, clean bones. _

_Gordon-Gordon was here! He was Booth's therapist, and he's British and super awesome! He was talking to me about Booth and Brennan's relationship. It's always great to find more people who actually have a clue. He told me that I reminded him of Booth and that I was a very nice child. I told him that he was pretty nice, too, and he laughed. You could tell Booth was having fun introducing us and conversing with us. _

_Clark was here again. I like annoying him by bringing up non-work-related topics. He gives me the 'Clark Look' and I just smile, because it's way too much fun to stop. _

_The victim was a bassist in a death metal band and his corpse was in possession of a death metal band. Angela was playing the music. Brennan says it's horrible. I'm sure the words suck, but you can't understand them. Angela and I were dancing to the music. It's not too bad. I like dancing with Angela._

_The death metal people are freaks, though. I though the Sci-Fi people were freaks, but these death metal people are scary! Ugh. They're into death and violence and Satan. Booth said that he told one of them he knew what Hell was like, since he was in the army and such, but that the guy said that his mind was Hell. That is just wrong in so many ways. Brenn says it goes against every rule of community. I just think it's horrible. Scary, scary people…_

_Also, Booth was on desk duty for a little while because he was pissed off at the death metal people and shot a speaker. He enjoys shooting annoying inanimate objects, apparently. I probably would've shot it, too._

_I heard you used to be into death metal, Sweets. That's crazy and definitely goes against the whole 'baby animal' thing. I am glad you have grown out of that. That seems weird to me. I also heard you were dressed like one of them when Brennan was at the concert. I wish there were pictures of that. I am sorry I missed that. _

_I've been hearing a lot of things about you recently. Like your book. Booth and Brennan, huh? I bet they aren't too happy about that. I can't wait to read it, though. I bet it's going to be great. It _is_ going to be great, right?_

_Gordon-Gordon didn't just come for a visit. He came to tell us he's retiring from psychiatry. He's amazing, though. Booth is sad, because Gordon-Gordon is such a great psychologist. Brennan is happy his intellect will be used somewhere less irrational and misdirected. I'm kind of in the middle. If Gordon-Gordon is going to stick around, I won't complain. He's going to be a chef, which is cool. I like food. _

_Also, he used to be this rock and roll-er named Noddy Comet! Booth used to listen to him and Booth has played some of his stuff while I was at home… He's pretty cool. And then we find out its Gordon-Gordon! It's awesome and yet awkward… _

_Scars on the back can be taken literally or metaphorically. In the case of literally, Brennan told me you have scars, Sweets. That worries me. I can identify with that, though, having been abused in foster homes. My scars are metaphorical, all except for a few on my knees and one on my back. Booth and Brennan have metaphoric scars also. I would guess that Brennan and I have similar scars, because we have been through similar ordeals. Sometimes, I wish I could talk to the two of you, because you understand. But, mostly, I just want to stay silent about these things. I think that, maybe, if I don't say anything, if I hide it, it can go away. That's not true, but it's nice to believe. _

_Gordon-Gordon and Brennan have confirmed my baby animal view. Gordon-Gordon said that you want a family, and have imprinted on us. Brennan says, "Like a baby duck?" So, yes. Sweets, you = baby duck. _

_Um, so we're going to come invite you over now… Because we are going duck hunting! (Not literally. Only Brenn would ask if we were _literally _going duck hunting…) So, I'll, um, see you in a minute…_

_Lily_


	56. Chapter 56

Lily walked out of her room, rubbing her tired eyes. "Brennan?" she asked.

"What is it Lily? Why are you out of bed? Is everything okay?"

"Um… yeah, I guess. I just… I mean, I should go back to bed," she stuttered.

"No, no." Brennan closed her laptop, giving her foster daughter her full attention. She patted the place beside her on the couch. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking about your story about being locked in the trunk, and…"

"And I heard your story of hiding in the closet to avoid being hit. I, uh, recall doing similar things."

"You're just probably the only who understands, and, uh, tonight, I really saw that, and… I don't know. I guess I maybe kind of wanted to talk," the girl said, sitting down.

"Oh. Um, yeah. I really don't how to have this type of conversation, but, um, I appreciate you coming to me. You're right. Only we understand."

"It's not fair, Brennan."

"I know, I know. They're just bad people exploiting helpless children."

"Aren't foster parents supposed to take care of children? Help them?"

"Yeah," Brennan whispered. "What people did to you wasn't fair. What they did to me wasn't fair, either."

"I would just… sit in the closet," Lily said quietly. "I hoped that, maybe, he'd forget about me. But he never did. He would come home and call for me, and do whatever he wanted. I was nine, ten years old, and I just wanted out." The young girl was sobbing now, and Brennan put an arm around her, feeling tears pool in her own eyes.

"I know, Lily. I know exactly how you felt."

"I've just wanted to keep silent, because, maybe, maybe, if I never talked about it, it would go away. But it… it doesn't."

"No. And it usually feels better to tell someone."

"And, sometimes, I think people might not, you know, like me as much when they find out."

Brennan put her cheek on top of the girl's head and rocked them back and forth. "No one will ever, ever, love you any less because of what he or anybody else did to you. Never."

"How do you know?"

Brennan pulled back and smiled. "Because they don't for me, and they certainly don't for you. Booth and Angela, and the rest of the team, they love you, and they respect you. All for who you are. No matter what."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. To them we're not two people who… who have been abused. We're a scientist and her brilliant, funny, amazing daughter. To them… We're family."

Tears ran down both of their cheeks, and Lily sniffed. _Daughter. Family. _Lily hugged Brennan. "Thanks you."

"Anytime, Lily. Anytime."

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ -

"Bones, it's Booth," he said as he opened the door a few minutes later, holding up a backpack. "Lily left this and I know she'll need it tomorrow for…" He noticed the tears of the two on the couch and was almost instantly at their side. "Bones, Mini, what's wrong?"

"We were just talking," Brennan said, wiping her cheeks.

" 'Just talking' made you two cry like this?" Booth asked, sitting next to Lily. He wrapped an arm around her so that Brennan's was resting on top of his.

Lily shifted a little, resting her head in the curve of Brennan's shoulder and chest, her feet curled on Booth's thigh. The three of them were nestled close together.

"Booth, we were… we were abused," Brennan whispered, and her partner rubbed her arm.

"I know, Bones, I know," he said quietly. "It's unfair that the two of you had to go through that. I'd like to throw those people in jail." Lily ran her finger along a faint scar that trailed down her forearm. "Who did this to you?" Booth asked as he watched.

"A man. A, uh, a foster parent."

Booth shook his head angrily. "I want to shoot him."

Brennan stroked the girl's hair. "I told you, no one loves you less for it."

"Oh, God," Booth whispered. "Mini, don't ever think something like that. _Never._"

She wiped her tears away and snuggled with the two people who loved her most until they all fell asleep.

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ -

Booth was the first to wake up. Early morning sun was peeking in through the curtains, and he smiled at the sight of two people he cared very much about curled up in his arms. Brennan was leaning up against his shoulder, her auburn hair tickling his neck. Lily's head was in Brennan's lap, the rest of her stretched over Booth. His head had been resting on top of Brennan's, his right arm around her and his left on Lily's legs. It was funny how they had settled into this position unconsciously.

Brennan stirred a little and he looked at his watch. Six-fifteen am. It was time for Lily to get up and get ready for school. He thought she deserved a mental health day after the previous night, but Brennan was usually vehemently against the girl missing school unless it was absolutely necessary, and her word was final. Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask before making the fourteen-year-old get up.

He didn't really want to wake his sleeping partner, but he didn't have much of a choice if he didn't want her to be mad at him. He shook her shoulder a little with the arm wrapped around her. "Bones?"

She stirred again and mumbled unintelligibly, shifting even more into Booth's side. He shook her again, and her blue eyes finally fluttered open. "Booth? What is it?"

"We had a late, emotional night last night, didn't we?" She nodded into his side, probably still half-asleep, and he shook her a little more, until she was looking up at him. "Let's keep Lily home today."

Brennan looked down at the sleeping girl in her lap and laid her head back on Booth. "That's a good idea."

Booth laid his cheek back on the anthropologist's head and closed his eyes, tightening his grip around both women whom he loved so much.


	57. Chapter 57

_Dear Journal/Sweets, _

_I've seen a lot of crazy things, but this tops it all. _

_We stole a body. _

_Well, technically _they _stole a body. I wasn't directly involved, per se. I just watched and laughed and kept cover. _

_I was an accessory. _

_Okay, so what happened was we were at a wake for a doctor for a doctor from the Egyptology Department (Probably the guy Wendell borrowed the thing from and left the post-it-note…Wendell is awesome). The coroner said he died of a heart attack, and there was no autopsy because he was declared dead at the hospital. Brennan was fixing a rose in the casket, barely touched the body, and told us he was translated. _

_Oh, I guess we can skip the code word now. Dr. Reilly was murdered. But I think I like translated better. _

_The wake was sad, but also hilarious. I mean, I didn't even know the guy and I was sad. But, there was drinking involved, which is always hilarious. And then there was the whole stealing-the-body thing. _

_I was inside with Hodgins, who was making a toast. It was the best toast _ever _because we saw Booth and Brennan, through the window, stealing the body. So, Hodgins was like, "Oh, God! I mean, Oh, God, Hank!" I was dying laughing and then went outside to ask Booth and Brennan what the heck they were doing. _

_They took Dr. Reilly to the lab, where Cam examined him. Long story short, he was poisoned, which caused the heart attack. He was declared dead, and then went to the funeral home. The embalmer poked him to, you know, embalm him, and the guy woke up. According to Booth, the embalmer dude watched Zombie movies while on acid, so he stabbed the guy. Yeah. _

_Hodgins declared himself King of the Funeral. Because that's not weird at all. _

_Bones was singing so she could get closer to the brother, who was a fan (It seems like everyone we ever meet is a fan. Jeez). She's super amazing. _

_A fight (More like a cat fight, actually) broke out between Reilly's wife and his assistant/girlfriend (Seriously, everyone is cheating), and Booth stopped it. He started singing. He's not horrible either. _

_Seeing as I had to stay at the wake the entire time, I missed, like, all of the case-solving stuff. It turns out that his Mom poisoned him so his other son (the fan), could get more. _

_That was five days ago. Now, the mother is dead. Booth and Brennan are at the grave with Reilly's brother. _

_I think they're home now, with dinner. _

_Peace out, _

_Lily _


	58. Chapter 58

**A/N: I put this in Lily's present tense PoV, just because I felt like it.**

Booth leaves earlier than normal. I'm not really complaining, because, one, that means I'll be able to get to sleep at a decent hour, and, two, it means quiet, and I have a novel to read.

Brennan comes back from kitchen, sitting in the armchair and grabbing her laptop. It's either work or a book. It's not like she does much web surfing.

"You know what Booth asked?" she says nonchalantly.

This gets my attention. She asks serious questions all nonchalantly. "What?"

"He asked me to come visit his grave occasionally and come to talk to him."

I know how Brennan fells about 'talking' to graves. Like most other things, she finds it irrational. "What did you say?"

"I promised I would."

"Oh." This pleasantly surprises me. It shows how much she truly cares for Booth. "That's nice."

"I think it would make me feel better for a moment." I smile at this, knowing exactly how much Booth's death hurts her. "I think seeing myself through his eyes would do me good," she continues.

Awww. "I know he appreciates that."

She gives me a wistful look, tilting her head to the side. "As irrational as it is, will you come visit me—us—post- mortem?"

Only Brennan would insert the forensic term in place of a less cold and scientific word. Inwardly, I shake my head at this, but how can I turn down this sweet request worded in such a special way? "Of course."

She smiles an amused smile. "Booth wants us to make sure he's dead." I notice the use of the plural 'us', meaning he plans on having Brennan and I around until his death. Nope, nothing gets by me.

"After Dr. Reilly, that sounds like a great, good idea."

"He said to leave him out for a while and check on him every few hours." I nod, and she continues with a perfectly straight face that tells me she's completely serious. "I'm going to put him in the fridge so that he doesn't smell."

First of all, she'd be way too distraught to do that. But I nearly fall over laughing. She giggles, too, but I can tell that she doesn't see why it was so funny. "No stinky, dead, Booth," I agree.

A/N: So, first off, I am very sorry this is late. But, swimming has been crazy. Like, I didn't watch the beginning of 'The Girl in the Mask' until just now. I have totally had zero time for posting, but the journal entry for 'The Girl in the Mask' should be up tomorrow and the second chapter for the episode Thursday night.

**A/N 2: I am very sad that my swim meets are on Thursdays... And the divisional meet is the night of the finale, which means I won't get to watch it until Friday... *sobs * **

**A/N 3: I always love to discuss **_**Bones**_**. If you want to talk about something, PLEASE hit me up!**


	59. Chapter 59

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Brennan is trying to pick a grad Student to hire. It _has _to be Wendell. I can't give him up. He's too much fun to be around. And he's too hot to lose. I like Clark and Vincent well enough, but please, _please, PLEASE _let it be Wendell!_

_Brennan has asked both Booth and I what we think. Both of us prefer Wendell. Brennan said that he has the most potential and has a great work ethic and Booth said that he was, you know, normal. I mentioned that he was funny and fun to be around, and I enjoy hanging out—er, helping—him. I did not say out loud that he is hot. *cough *_

_I know that Brenn is also considering Vincent because he is the most intelligent, with his random-fact-spouting. Like I said, both Booth and I are rooting for Wendell, but we—well, he—told Brennan to pick whoever she wanted. Hopefully we now have her leaning toward Wendell. =] _

_I think it would be a great idea to have all of us in the lab vote. But I have a feeling Brennan wouldn't go for that._

_At this rate, she might never decide._

_But I still have my fingers crossed for Wendell._

_Lily_


	60. Chapter 60

_Dear Journal/ Sweets, _

_Booth has Japanese friends. The man's name is Ken, and he's very nice. He called Booth because his younger sister is in DC and usually calls everyday, but he hasn't heard from her in five days. Booth thought Ken was being over-protective until him and Brennan found the sister's body and decapitated head. _

_Poor Ken. _

_Ken came here from Japan and brought Dr. Tanaka, a forensic anthropologist. Brennan said Dr. Tanaka was brilliant, and Dr. Tanaka said that Brenn is the best in the field. _

_We know._

_The thing about Dr. Tanaka is that we're not actually sure if Dr. Tanaka is a man or a woman. So, no pronouns apply. I think Dr. Tanaka is a woman, and so does Hodgins. Angela disagrees. She…he…it…person! We've had this dilemma before. But the person was dead, so there was no risk of offense. This is just complicated. _

_Long story short, Sachi (that's Ken's sister) and her roommate, Nozomi, worked for an "escort service". One of Nozomi's clients killed Sachi (I'm confused about that part…I didn't' find myself very much in the case loop this time…) and their pimp (Booth hates pimps. He really does) cut off Sachi's head and stuck it on a bamboo stake with Nozomi's mask on it, telling Nozomi to run (She did…we found her). _

_Yeah. _

_Now, we're at Booth's house. Brennan and Booth are eating ice cream, and probably drinking, and I went to bed early because I am tired. I think I might actually sleep now. _

_Lily. _


	61. Chapter 61

I don't have school today and there's nothing on TV, so I starting thinking about Booth's Japanese friend. He's already left, but I never got to talk to him. I get some paper and a pencil and start writing.

_Dear Mr. Nakamura, _

_I hope you receive this letter soon. I'm not sure you remember me, as we only briefly met, but I'm Lily, Dr. Brennan's foster daughter. _

_I'm terribly sorry about your sister. I know you loved Sachi very much. She was incredibly lucky to have a brother like you, a brother that cared so much. _

_You see, I don't have any family. Booth and Brennan are all I have. I was abandoned by my mother and have been passed through foster homes for fourteen years. I would give anything to have a brother like you. However short of a time you and Sachi had each other was a lucky time. _

_Even though these were horrible circumstances, I enjoyed meeting you. Booth speaks highly of you, and I heard much of you long before you came. I was honored to finally meet you. _

_Booth thinks of you as a great friend, and any friend of Booth's is a friend of ours. I hope we can meet again under much better circumstances. _

_Sincerely, Lily Cate_

Not my best letter. Oh, well. I know where the envelopes and stamps are, so I have everything I need except for the address. For that, I'll need Booth.

"Hey, Booth?"

He walks out of the kitchen, soda in hand. "Yeah, Mini?"

"Do you have Mr. Nakamura's address?" I hold up the envelope. "I want to send him a letter."

He kneels down in front of me, putting his hand on my shoulder, like he's talking to Parker. He opens his mouth to say something, but doesn't. He stands up and pats my shoulder, taking the letter.

"I'll send it first thing tomorrow, Mini."


	62. Chapter 62

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Frat boys are retarded. They're so gross. I mean, first of all, they hanged somebody's mascot and fired a cannon full of stuff at it. Their pranks involve stealing cadavers and dressing them up. They have toga parties._

_And a scoreboard. _

_Nasty. _

_Anyway, I've just had my daily French lesson. The victim's name was Jimmy Bouvier, but they called him "Beaver". According to Brennan, _bouvier _means actually means ox. That will be helpful when I am in Paris and need to buy an ox. _

_Arastoo is here. In my considering the interns, I forgot about him and Fisher (Though I wish I could forget Fisher). I don't think they're really any competition for Wendell, but I like Arastoo. He's really sweet and funny and has a cool accent. And he's Muslim._

_We had a conversation earlier worthy of noting. Booth was excusing the stupid frat boys by saying that we are born with frontal lobes the size of raisins (which is kind of a stupid thing to say) and that we have to be bad in order to be good so our frontal lobes can grow. You have to make mistakes and learn from them. Brenn said she has never done anything bad (believable). Booth does have a point, though. _

_Oh, I have to go. Booth is meeting Jared at the diner and said I can come. _

_Lily _


	63. Chapter 63

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Jared Booth is the most selfish jerk on this planet. I. Hate. Him._

_Because he got us Thomas Vega's remains (and not exactly entirely legally), he was court-martialed and then dishonorably discharged (No Booth has been dishonorably discharged). At first, he said he felt like he owed it to Booth for digging him out of crap his whole life. He was redeeming himself. The conversation was short and not bad._

_Then, Booth told Jared he would find him a job. And Jared made a comment that made me want to slap him._

_"I save your life, you find me a job. Sounds fair."_

_It was the way he said it. I was fuming. Booth told me not to worry about him, but I couldn't help it. I just gaped after him, and then Booth and I split some French fries._

_Booth found Jared a job interview—for a really good job—really fast. So we go to the diner, and Jared shows up. On a motorcycle. He said he wants to go to India (without spying on Pakistan). Booth doesn't want him to go. He was being protective and practical, because that's how Booth is. But Jared was being a jerk and said, "You forgot to tell me to get shots and not talk to strangers". Ugh. I wanted to kick him, and Booth was pissed. He was telling Jared to just go to the interview. It was what Brennan would call a War of the Alpha Males. Jared drove off and Booth and I went inside and ate French fries. The diner's fries are kind of our stress food._

_But Booth thinks Jared is ruining his life. Sweets says that Booth is jealous of Jared because Booth feels trapped by his job and responsibilities, and Jared is free with no job, no family, no one who needs him. And then, Booth started thinking about getting his own motorcycle._

_I hope he takes me on it._

_I'm still freaking pissed. Jared can go drive his motorcycle to India and leave us alone._

_Lily_


	64. Chapter 64

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Angela and Cam are hilarious. According to them, Brennan is going to "stare at the bones until they speak to her". _

_And then they played Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who had to stay and "baby-sit" her. Cam lost and so she's hanging out here with us. I'm dividing my time between Brennan, Cam, and the computer. _

_I'm going to go stare at the bones some. Maybe they'll speak to me._

_Lily_


	65. Chapter 65

_Dear Journal/Sweets, _

_Jared wants Booth to go to India with him. Like, seriously. I don't want Booth to go to India. India is far away. Really, really far away. Too far away for Booth to go._

_And plus, Booth and Jared don't even like each other._

_Booth says that Jared won't be alone if Booth goes. But Jared's never been alone. And, according to our earlier conversation, you can't grow if you're never alone so you can make mistakes and learn from them. So, if Booth goes, then Jared's frontal lobe will always be the size of a raisin because he'll never be alone and allowed to make his own mistakes._

_I personally could care less about Jared's frontal lobe. I just don't want Booth to go._

_Lily_


	66. Chapter 66

I'm home alone at Booth's, eating an after-school snack, when Jared, of all people, walks in. I decide to continue to sit and eat, totally ignoring the fact that he's here.

"Fruit and cream cheese?" he asks with a sneer, eyeing my food. "Oh, no. I'll show you a snack."

I hear him dig through the fridge and cabinets but keep studying the anatomy textbook from Brennan's, eating my fruit.

"God, they're turning you into a nerd," he says, poking my book.

Ignore. Ignore. Read. Scribble a note. Munch. Munch.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

Ignore. Ignore. Read. Scribble a note. Munch. Munch.

My snack is gone. Without a word, I put my plate in the sink, grab my stuff, and lock my door before flopping on my top bunk, feet lifted up to touch the ceiling.

I fall asleep, and am awakened some time later by a knock on my door.

"Mini? You busy?"

"No." I open the door to find Booth, home straight from work. "Solve the case?"

"Yeah. Leave the mess in the kitchen?" The question is a cleverly disguised reprimand.

I squeeze my way past him and view the left-out snack food and dishes, spilled milk and chocolate syrup on the table. "No," I say as I start cleaning up.

He looks confused and says, "You're not in trouble if you did." But he knows I wouldn't lie, so he sits there and stares at me in confusion.

"Jared," I halfway growl.

He nods and starts helping me. "Don't let him get under your skin."

"He's a jerk."

"I know."

I shrug. "Be he's your brother."

"Yeah." He looks at his watch. "I'm meeting him at the Founding Fathers after we clean up."

"Are you going to go to India?" I ask quietly.

"No. No." He looks at me. "I couldn't leave."

"Oh." I look at the washrag in my hand. "I can clean up. Go ahead."

"I won't be out too late." He pats the top of my head. "Eat a TV dinner and I'll get you some french fries and a Coke later."

I nod, reciting the staying-home-alone rules. "No stove. I won't open the door. Cell phone close."

"That's my girl."

A/N: These are late, but (1) my computers were attackled by viruses, and (2) I am creating my own timeline. After 'The Beaver in the Otter', our darling characters will learn something that will change everything (dun dun duh...). You are going to see quite a few chapters that have nothing to do with episodes before I post chapters for 'The Critic and the Cabernet' and 'The End in the Beginning' (I love my 'The End in the Beginning' chapter...). But since I am keeping many parts of this strictly canon, I cannot write past the finale. This allows me to continue giving you all story as well as letting me add my own plot without speculating or contradicting what will happen next season. I hope you all enjoy! 


	67. Chapter 67

"Dr. Saroyan?" Hodgins asked, bored on the very rainy Saturday. "I want your permission for something."

"Dr. Hodgins, we don't even have a case. What possible experiment could you feel the need to do?"

"Not an experiment," he said, almost hesitantly.

"Just ask, Dr. Hodgins, so I can say 'no' and get on with my life."

"I just want to teach Lily to run DNA." Her expression remained the same, and he considered what argument would be the best to convince her. "It would be one less job you'd have to do."

Cam sighed. "Fine. She's in Dr. Brennan's office." He walked away eagerly and she muttered under her breath. "Two less bored ones to deal with."

"Dr. Brennan. Agent Booth. Lily." He nodded at each person as he acknowledged them. "I want to borrow Lily."

Lily eyes him suspiciously. "For what?"

"You want to learn how to run DNA?" The girl grinned and stood up, but Brennan interrupted.

"Whose DNA are you running?"

"I figured mine. I mean, it's already in the system…"

"Lily's," Booth said. "Enter Lily's in case-"

"Something happens," Brennan finished.

"Dr. Hodgins?" Cam asked as she stared at the screen, dumbfounded. "Whose DNA did you run to teach Lily?"

"Lily's," he answered. "Why?"

"Results came up." She clicked again. "A familial match."

"We found one of Lily's parents?" Hodgins scrambled over to the screen. "Name?"

Cam swallowed. "Special Agent Seeley Booth."

"Whoa." Hodgins gaped at the pathologist. "Booth is her dad?"

"According to this, he's either her dad, brother, or son. My guess would be dad."

"Wow." He shook his head. "This is _epic_. I have to tell Angela." Cam could only nod.

"Ange?" Hodgins asked, almost urgently. "Angela!"

"What?"

"Come here." He leaned in close and said, "Booth is Lily's father."

"What?" she nearly squealed.

"Shhh! I was teaching Lily how to use the DNA machine, and Dr. B and Booth wanted me to put her DNA in the system in case something happens. Well, results popped up. Lily has a familial match to Seeley Booth. He's Lily's biological father."

"Oh. My. God." Angela was totally freaking out. "Jack, why didn't we see this before?"

"What?"

"Think about it! They look _exactly _alike." Then, Angela spotted another woman walking through the lab. "I have to go talk to Brenn!"

Brennan sat at the desk in her office, checking her e-mail, when Angela walked in.

"Brenn?" she asked. "I _really _need to talk to you."

Brennan shut her laptop and gave her best friend her full attention. "What's up, Ange?"

"You know how Hodgins entered Lily's DNA into the system?" Brennan nodded. "Well, results came up. We found Lily's father."

Brennan sighed sadly, wondering about who this man was, if he was a good man, and her chances of keeping Lily around. "Who is he?"

Angela smiled. "Booth."

Brennan's jaw dropped. "Booth? Booth is Lily's _father_?"

Angela nodded. "It's so obvious, though! They're so much alike! They have the same eyes, the same smile, the same facial expressions…" She pointed out of the window. "Look."

At the present moment, they were bickering about something. Both were leaning forward on their toes, Booth's hands on his hips pushing back his suit jacket, Lily's hands on her hips, pushing back her lab coat. They had the exact same expression, too: brows furrowed, biting their lips.

"Oh, my God," Brennan said. "They really are father and daughter."

Booth and Brennan sat at the Founding Fathers, working on their first beers.

"Lily have a lot of homework tonight?" Booth asked, trying to make conversation with the oddly quiet Brennan.

"Yeah. Angela dropped her off so she could study. She has final exams this week."

"Um-hum." Both stared at their bottles for a moment, until Booth could handle the silence no more. "Bones?" He put a hand on her arm. "What's bugging you?"

She sighed. "You know how we had Hodgins put Lily's DNA in the system?" He nodded, and she took a deep breath. "We found Lily's father."

"Oh, God." Booth took a long sip. He had the same concerns Brennan had when she heard. "Who is he?"

Brennan shook her head, finding it irrational that the knowledge was upsetting her.

He thought that this meant that her father was a horrible man, so he put an arm around Brennan, talking softly. "What did he do?"

"Nothing," she whispered.

"Oh." So that was it. He was a fine, upstanding citizen, and it was likely that he'd want to claim his daughter. "What can we do?"

"I can't do anything." She shrugged. "But you can do everything."

"Me? Why me?"

She sighed again. "Because _you're _her father."

Booth gasped in surprise. "_Me_?"

She nodded. "You're her biological father. And you know, she's just like you. I cannot believe we didn't at least suspect this before."

"Oh, my God. I'm her- her… wow." He grinned. "Bones, this is _great."_

"Yeah."

"What's wrong, Bones? I thought- I thought we talked about this."

"We did."

"It'll be the same."

"I know." She took a sip of her drink. "I know."

"Bones, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing. I'm so happy for you, for her. It's just different. I'll adapt."

Booth smiled, squeezing her tight with the arm around her. "I need to talk to her, huh?"

Brennan nodded. "Yeah." She shrugged. "You want to pick her up from school tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I think we'll need some French fries." She smiled, and he squeezed her again, and then let his hands drop to his drink. "We'll think about this tomorrow. For now, beer." They clinked their bottles together.


	68. Chapter 68

**A/N: For some reason, this was one of my favorite chapters to write. I guess I just like writing Lily like this. I hope this chapter is worth the wait!**

"Hey, Booth," Lily greeted as she climbed into the SUV.

He smiled. "Hey, Mini. How was your day?"

She shrugged. "Okay. Yours?"

He shrugged. "Okay."

It wasn't a long drive to their destination, but it was mostly a quiet one. Lily could see that Booth had something weighing heavy on his mind, so she didn't press for conversation. It wasn't an uncomfortable atmosphere, though.

"The diner?" Lily asked as they parked. "Sweet." However, she grew suspicious when he ordered two Cokes and _French fries_. "French fries?" she asked, eyebrow raised. "What's up, Booth?"

"Well..."

"What _is _it? I hate suspense."

He sighed. "You know how Hodgins ran your... Your DNA?"

Lily nodded. "So what?"

"We got a... A result." He cleared his throat. "Your father."

She shrank back, her expression growing angry. "Who is he?" she demanded.

Booth had no idea how to tell her. "Um..."

"Who. Is. He?" Her jaw was clinched tight. "I deserve to know."

Uncomfortably, he shifted his weight onto his elbows on the table. "I don't... I..."

She narrowed her eyes. "Booth. Tell. Me. Now."

He took a deep breath, sighing heavily. "Me."

She gasped. "You're lying."

"No," he whispered. "I'm your dad."

She stood up, nearly knocking her chair over as her anger exploded. "You? _You _abandoned me?"

"No, no," he stuttered. "I didn't know. No. I had no idea of anything... If I had... If I had known..."

"No!" she shouted. "You abandoned me! You abandoned me!"

He stood, trying to walk over to her, but she backed away. "Mini, you think I would have? You honestly think I would have?"

"You did!"

"I didn't know anything, Lily! I didn't know!"

"Right," she snarled. Other customers were staring, but she could have cared less.

"If I dated your mother, then-" he began, but she interrupted.

"Then you left her when she got pregnant? Or did you stick around until I was born and then make the decision to stick me in foster care?"

"Lily, no woman, other that Rebecca, has told me she was pregnant. Sweetheart, I am trying to tell you, _I didn't know_. Otherwise, I would've always been there, like with Parker."

Tears now flowed down her cheeks freely, blurring her vision. "I should have known that this was all too good to be true. _Everyone _betrays me."

"Mini..." He tried again to walk to her, but she ran to the restroom, where he couldn't follow her.

"Brennan," she sobbed into the phone. "Can you please pick me up from the diner? I want... I want to go."

**A/N: So, what did you think of that? There will be much more Angry! Lily coming, so please review so I can post! =]**


	69. Chapter 69

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_I should have known that this happy life that I've found is too good to be true. In the long run, I am betrayed by those I have trusted, by the people I am close to, people I may even love. By people I thought loved me._

_DNA results show that Booth is my biological father. DNA results show that Booth abandoned me and my mother. It was _Booth_. I thought I could trust him. I thought he cared about me. I even cared about him. But it was _Booth _who abandoned me._

_Oh, God._

_I don't buy that he didn't know. Maybe he didn't connect the dots when he met me, but he had to have known he had a child. _

_He _abandoned _me! _

_I don't want to see him, I don't want to talk to him, I don't want to live with him, and I certainly don't want him to be my dad._

_L_


	70. Chapter 70

A/N: This will be a longer chapter. Miss Mila helped me come up with the idea for the second part, and GryffindorPrincess23 suggested the point-of-view switch. Thanks guys! Love ya! Anyway, this is more Angry!Lily... which I _really _have fun with. Please enjoy and REVIEW... I am very disappointed in the recent lack of reviews.

After I picked Lily up from the diner, she went straight into her room and hasn't come out, not even for dinner. Worried, I walk to her room, hesitating outside her door. Clearly, she's upset, and this is she and Booth's problem. After all, he is her father. I won't be maintaining guardianship for much longer.

But, as Angela said, that doesn't mean I can't still be her friend.

I knock as I enter. "Lily? Can we talk?"

She's been crying, and she wipes tears from her cheeks. "Yeah, sure, Brenn," she says quietly.

"Are you okay?" I can tell that she's not, but I don't know what else to say.

She closes that diary Sweets has her write in so she doesn't have to sit in therapy like the rest of us. "I'm fine. Just mad."

"With Booth?" Another stupid question. _Temperance, what is going on with your thought process? _I ask myself.

She nods. "I feel like he plunged a knife between my shoulder blades."

Poor baby. Wait, no, Lily is no baby. And she's lucky to have a father like Booth. "Lils, I don't think he knew."

"Brennan, how could he not have known he had a child?"

I consider the possibilities. "Maybe your mother didn't tell him. Maybe-"

"Maybe he abandoned us," she insists. "Think about it, Brennan."

I am thinking about it, and the logical conclusion I have reached is not the same she has. So I argue. "If Booth had known, he would have stayed."

"But he didn't!" she shouts, standing up. "He didn't!"

She's never shouted at me, but I keep my voice gentle. "Lily, I think you should listen to him. I think you should hear him out, even if you don't believe him at first. He's your dad, and I think he deserves that."

"But I don't want him to be my dad!" she cries. Oh, how that would hurt Booth. He's wanted to be her dad for months now. "I don't want to talk to him." A sob echoes from her chest. "And when They find out," she says, knowing I would know exactly who she was talking about, the system. "They'll take me away from you. I don't want to live with him!"

Funny. She's always preferred his place. Oh, how the tables have turned. "Lily-"

She interrupts me, and I have a feeling I should just allow her to let out everything she has in her. "He _abandoned _me to foster care, Brenn. You hated Russ for that. Why can't I hate Booth?" She points to the long scar on her arm I know comes from a man shoving her into a glass table. "If he had stuck around, I wouldn't have this."

"That was different," I argue. "Russ knew about me, deliberately turned me over. Booth didn't."

"How do you know that?"

I don't know that for sure, but I do know Booth. "Because Booth wouldn't do that!" So much for letting her letting it all out. "He wouldn't abandon his child. He didn't abandon Parker, and he wouldn't have abandoned you."

"But, Brenn," she sobs. "He did! He left my mom, and he put me through foster care. Maybe when he met me, he didn't know _I _was his daughter, but he _knew_! He _knew _he was a father! And he didn't stick around. He betrayed me! _Everyone _betrays me!"

"Booth does not betray people. It's not who he is."

She chuckles softly. "I didn't think you believed in psychology."

"I don't. I'm not talking psychology. I'm talking about Booth. I know him well."

She shrugs. "You're defending him. I should have known you'd take his side. You've been partners longer than you've taken care of me."

"Lily, there are no sides!"

"Whatever. I'm done talking, Brennan."

That's not like her. She's upset. And so am I. So I leave her room without saying anything.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I feel like it's my only option. I don't want to stay here now, knowing that Brennan doesn't have my back.

I can't sleep, and she's in her room, so I pack a duffel bag with necessities. Stupid, I know. But it's easy to get out of my window, and it's easy to take a bus.

I'm headed where I'm headed because it's closer than Angela's and kind of hard to miss. I'd feel much safer there at two in the morning.

_Buzz_. "Yes?"

"I need to see Dr. Hodgins."

"Ma'am, it's two in the morning. Can't this wait?"

Stupid guard. "No. I need to be let in now."

"Is Dr. Hodgins expecting you?"

"No. But he knows me. I work at the Jeffersonian with him."

"Ma'am, you seem a little young to be working anywhere."

I will be as patient as I can at two in the morning, in the cold, bickering with some old man. "I need Dr. Hodgins. Please get him. He knows me. Please."

"Ma'am-"

"Or I can call him."

I can practically hear him roll his eyes through the speaker. "_I _will call him, Miss..."

"Lily Rivers."

After a minute, the gate opens. Ha. Take that, old man.

Hodgins meets me outside the main house. I don't think I'll ever get over how big this place is. "Lily? What are you doing here? What happened?"

I take a deep breath, which cracks in my throat as tears fill my eyes. "I don't want to stay at Brennan's."

He sighs, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Come in. I'll get you some hot chocolate and a guest bedroom."

"Thanks, Hodgins. I didn't know where else to go... Angela's is too far away, and... And..." I'm trying my hardest not to cry in front of him.

"Okay, okay." He leads me inside and I cry myself to sleep, knowing he's called Brennan and Booth, but being here, somehow, makes me feel better.

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed that. I may post another chapter later, and then I am going away to camp for a week. If you want another chapter soon, please review. I've gotten very few reviews lately which is very discouraging.**


	71. Chapter 71

**A/N: Hee hee hee... More Angry!Lily. Gosh, arguing is not easy to write. Please appreciate it and leave me a review. All right, so I have to explain. I loved the episode 'The Man in the Cell' and thought it would be cute to have Lily in the hospital instead of Cam, with Booth by her side. I was going to make that her first episode on the show, but then figured that Booth needed to know her in order to care so much. So (Because I'm the author and can do whatever I want), I'm making the episode 'The Man in the Cell' the Season 3 opener. This is referenced to, and I just wanted to clear that up. Anyway, enjoy and review!**

Of course, Hodgins called Booth and Brennan. I knew he would. But when I woke up, after sleeping hard from all the crying, I had expected to be alone. Instead, Booth was waiting for me.

So I ignored him.

"Lily..." He looks at me with pleading eyes and I Death Glare back. "Please, listen to me."

"No." Simple, one-word answer.

He grabs my arm. "Please."

I shake free, still trying to ignore him. But he talks anyway.

"Lily, I don't know who your mother is." Yeah, that makes me feel better. "I looked at pictures last night, all kinds of things. I didn't sleep, thinking about how I could prove all of this to you."

I take out a magazine and pretend to be completely absorbed.

"None of the women I ever dated ever told me they were pregnant, besides, of course, Rebecca. I never had a baby girl. Fourteen years ago, I didn't even really have a serious girlfriend."

"There were women." He seems relieved that I'm talking to him.

"Yeah, there were. I had just gotten out of the army, was headed to the FBI... there were women. Nobody serious, and certainly no one with a baby."

"So you say."

"What kind of proof do you want, Mini? What do you want from me? You don't even have a birth certificate."

That hurt, and he must have realized that, but he continued attempting to change my mind about his "fatherhood".

"I didn't know. I don't know why you don't accept that, or why you won't believe me, or forgive me, or just... Mini, please."

I stand up. I can't take it any longer. "I have a birth certificate! I had a mother! You can't blame her for not wanting to raise me all alone, after she was abandoned! Why would she want the daughter of a traitor, anyway? Huh? Why would anyone want me? You set the pattern!"

"Lily, if I had known, I would have wanted you. I would have taken care of you. I want to now."

"I might have believed that not too long ago. I believed that you cared about me when Epps poisoned me. But now... I think it was just the guilt talking."

"No! I cared! I care now! I wanted to adopt you, back at Christmas."

"Did you feel guilty about the daughter you abandoned? Trying to make up for it? What a coincidence!"

He sighs heavily. "Lily Catherine, what do you want?"

"I don't know. I want to not have been abandoned by my father. I want to have not had to go through foster care. I don't want you to be my dad!"

That hurt him. Good.

"Lily, I care about you. I'm your father, okay? What happened in the past is in the past."

"No!" I feel weird here, screaming in Hodgins house. But Booth needs to be screamed at. I need to scream. "It's not in the past! I had to pay for your decisions and I am pissed off at you!"

"I understand, Mini, but you need to understand my side of the story. I-"

"No, Booth. I don't need to understand. I need you to leave me alone. Someone abandoning you is not something you get over, by the way. The years of foster care, the abuse I suffered, that's all your fault. And 'I'm sorry' and lame excuses doesn't change that."

"I understand that."

"No, you don't!"

"Okay. I don't. Just, please, come home. At least to Bones."

I shake my head. "I certainly won't go back with you. And she took your side."

"Don't blame her."

"I'm blaming _you_. Besides, I'm not tearing you two apart. If she can accept your lies, then fine. Fine. Angela said I was always welcome. I'll be there, ignoring you, if you need me."

I disappear into the guest room and hit the speed dial.

**A/N: Awww. I'm sorry if I screwed up the timeline of when Booth got out of the army... It works my way. Next is 'The Critic in the Cabernet'. Reviews? Please? **


	72. Chapter 72

A/N: This is shorter. It takes place during the fateful therapy session in the beginning of 'The Critic in the Cabernet'. I thought that Sweets needed to reappear.

"And I've seen you," Brennan remarked. "You're a good father."

He looked at her incredulously. "A good father? My oldest won't even talk to me."

"It's a defense mechanism," Sweets said automatically.

"What?" Booth asked, looking at the young psychologist.

"She has to blame someone, so she blamed herself for everything that happened to her. You told her that was ridiculous. She should blame the people that abused her, and the people that abandoned her. You said her parents were at fault. Well, you're her parent. She blames you because you told her to."

"But that would mean she listens to me, trusts me."

"She did. And now she's just confused. Give her some time. She'll be okay. You all will. Now, about that baby..."


	73. Chapter 73

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Why do we get such weird remains? Whatever happened to dry bone, huh? I mean, this time, we have bones that have been soaking in wine/vinegar for a while. The bones turned purple, which is weird enough. But, on top of that, they're like rubber! God, it's just wrong. Bones should _not _be flexible like that. _Wrong.

_And, to add to that, Fisher is working with us. Have I ever mentioned that he's my least favorite intern? I think I have. Ugh._

_Plus, I also have to work with Booth, which is a given, but pisses me off._

_This case seems like it's going to be fun._

_Note the sarcasm._

_L_


	74. Chapter 74

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_I hope that Brennan is prepared to raise her child as a single parent. The man she wants to father her baby is the man that fathered me and left._

_She wants him to donate his sperm. I bet he's down with that. That's what Booth does._

_Donates his sperm._

_A week ago, this news would have made me ridiculously happy. But now that I basically hate Booth's guts… Not quite so happy._

_Another Booth to be raised by someone else._

_Freaking sperm donator._

_L_


	75. Chapter 75

_Dear Journal/ Sweets,_

_Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. _

_I'm a horrible person. I feel so bad I can't even describe it._

_Oh, my God._

_My dad might have a brain tumor._

_Brennan rushed him to the hospital because he's been having hallucinations. First it was Lucky Luc at the at the hockey game, Teddy Parker when he was kidnapped, and now Brennan says he was seeing Stewie from that stupid TV show._

_I'm so scared._

_I was so mad at him because of my life, and I wouldn't ever hear his side of the story. Why wouldn't I believe him? He hasn't lied to me before. He hasn't ever hurt me. I was absolutely horrible. _

_What happens if I lose him?_

_I finally, _finally_, had a parent, someone I already loved and trusted, someone who cared about me, and I screwed it up._

_Now he's in the hospital and I'm scared and I'm crying and I'm so, so sorry._

_I just want Booth to be my dad._

_And now…_

_Oh, my God. Here's Brennan with news._

_Lily_


	76. Chapter 76

In situations like this, when someone you love gives you news about someone else you love, you tend to not comprehend the word _benign_. No, it's _brain tumor_ that echoes in your mind.

Here I am, sitting in a hospital waiting room, looking at the crying face of Brennan and hearing only two words- brain tumor. As in, my dad has a brain tumor.

The weird part of this is he constantly stares death in the face, and sure, it freaks me out, but this? Now that the threat is medical and not criminal, I don't know what to do. I don't have evidence to process and he doesn't have a gun and it's all up to God.

The worst thing is that the last conversation that I had with Booth was basically me hating his guts.

I've never even called him 'Dad'.

The fact that Brennan is so utterly distraught about something so seemingly Squint-ish as a supposedly benign brain tumor is making me feel much worse.

Hospital waiting rooms are not conducive to calm nerves.

I can't stop tears from filling my eyes, and I know I'm not the only one.

"Oh, my God," Angela says. She looks at Brennan and puts her hand on my back, gently pushing me forward. "You two, go. Be with him."

Brennan nods and pulls me into the best hug I've ever gotten. We both need the warmth and reassurance, and, most of all, each other. She sniffs and pulls back after a minute, but keeps an arm tightly around my waist as we walk to Booth's room.

Longest hallway of my life.

He's just laying there in the hospital bed, dressed in a hospital gown, looking small and scared and lonely and not like the man I know.

"Bones." He smiles, and I know he needs her there. Then, he turns to me, his smile turning to sweet surprise. "Mini?"

I can't help but run to his bed, tears dripping down my cheeks. I bury my face in his chest, practically sobbing. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Booth gives the best hugs (I'm speaking generally- Brennan's in the waiting room is definitely the best). He holds me, stroking my hair and whispering gently, "Mini, Sweetheart, it's okay. It's okay."

I look up at him, feeling like I'm four years old. "Daddy…"

I've never seen anyone smile as wide and as bright as he did, pulling me close to him again. I feel Brennan there, too, her touch more reassuring than it's ever been for all three of us.

"We're going to need some serious French fries," Dad jokes, "When I come out of this."

I sniff, wiping my cheeks. "Just come out of this, okay?"

He smiles. "Lily Cate, I missed out on the first fourteen years of your life. I'm not missing any more."

"Agent Booth?" a doctor asks, but he turns to go when he sees us. "I'll come back."

"No, no," Brennan says. "We were just leaving. Lily, let's let the doctors do their jobs."

I sniff and nod, getting one last hug and a kiss on the forehead from Dad. "I love you," he whispers.

"I love you, too, Daddy."

Brennan takes my hand, but Dad interrupts. "Bones? Can I talk to you?"

She nods. "Let me take Lily back to the waiting room."

I shake my head. "I want to go alone." I wave to Dad and Brenn and walk out, getting only about three feet down the hall when I am attacked by my emotions. I slide down the wall, burying my face in my hands.

A few minutes later, I feel someone sitting next to me. I look up, expecting it to be Brennan. Instead, it's Hodgins.

"It's going to be okay, Lils."

I take a deep breath. "That's my dad in there, Hodgins."

He puts an arm around me and I lean my head on his shoulder. "I know it is. And I know he's going to be fine."

I look him square in the eye. "You're a scientist." He nods. "You know about this stuff. Tell me, honestly… Is he going to be okay?"

"Didn't you hear the doctor say 'benign'?" I heard, but it didn't register half as well as 'brain tumor'. He continues. "This surgery is-"

"Don't you dare say 'simple procedure'. I'm fourteen, not stupid. It's _brain surgery_."

He shrugs. "Of course, there could always be… complications. But he's Booth. He'll be fine."

I nod and Hodgins stands. "Come on. Come wait with us. Trust me, you do _not _want to spend hours on a hospital floor."

I can't help but smile a little as I take his hand. He leads me back to the waiting room and Angela motions for me to take the chair next to her, Hodgins sitting on my other side. Sweets is wearing the floor out with his pacing and Cam is still. Her and Dad used to date, but she knows and understands that Dad and Brennan belong together. They need each other.

And as for me? My dad's in surgery to have a brain tumor removed.

I don't have the faintest clue of what to do with myself.

**A/N: I think this is the second best written chapter in this beast of a fic (The best is yet to come). What do **_**you **_**think?**


	77. Chapter 77

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Brennan went into surgery with Dad and she said it went great. The part that didn't go so great was the anesthesia. Dad reacted badly and has been in a coma. _

_For nearly three days now._

_The only thing keeping me from having join Zack in the Looney Bin is the constant reassurance from all of the Squints and doctors. They say he should wake up soon and should be fine._

_That 'should' scares me._

_I mean, what if he doesn't wake up? What if he does and something is wrong?_

_What if?_

_I don't know if Brenn has even left the hospital since she brought him in. I mean, I've spent a good amount of time here, but I've been going home at night with Angela. Brennan has constantly been by his bedside, typing. She won't let me read what she's writing, which is unusual. _

_Anyway, it's been three days with no change. Maybe I should call Zack and tell him to save me a bed._

_Lily_


	78. Chapter 78

A/N: This is my favorite chapter of the whole story. It's for 'The End in the Beginning', and I hope you love it, too!

Lily Booth was used to getting whatever she wanted. She walked around The Lab, batting her eyelashes at employees with a request that was really a demand. If she wasn't immediately given what she desired, her dad would make sure his Princess got it.

Tonight, she wanted to know who killed the man in the bathroom, and she wanted to know _now_. For this reason, she headed towards someone whom she found could not easily resist her fourteen-year-old "charm".

"Wendell," she greeted, drawing out the name. She batted her long, dark lashes.

He turned to face her. "Lily."

"You're the doorman." She licked her lips. "Security." She leaned nonchalantly against the wall. "You see everything that goes on here."

Wendell raised his eyebrows, awaiting the girl's wish. "Usually."

"So you _must _know what went down last night."

He leaned in close to her, whispering. "Rumor is Mr. B did it."

"Daddy?" She didn't seem overly surprised.

"To protect you and Brenn."

"Oh." She rolled her eyes.

"You went through a phase where you were angry at your father," Wendell pointed out. "And now your mother?" He leaned against the wall next to her. "Are you going to be angry at me next?"

Lily poked him in the chest. "I'll never be angry at you, Wendell." And with that, she spun on her heel and walked away.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

"Lily?" Angela found her sitting at the empty bar, drinking an orange soda. "Do you think your dad did it?"

She shrugged. "It's not my job to think."

"What did you tell the cops?"

"The truth. That I was here until my Dad and I went home. Well, that I was in the back. Of course, I couldn't say I was out here, because that's not," she rolled her eyes, "Allowed." She turned to the hostess. "What did _you _tell them?"

"That I had never seen the man before in my life."

"Liar."

"Well, I wasn't going to tell Cam and Jared. I mean, you said you didn't see him, right? But you see everybody, too."

"If I said that I saw him, it would give away that I was out here, and we'd be in even more trouble."

"True," Angela stood up, patting the teenager on the shoulder. "But I know for a fact that whoever killed the man was protecting you and your mom." She winked. "And that makes the prime suspect…"

"Daddy."

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

"Lily," Zack asked in a whisper, "Do you think Arastoo had anything to do with this?"

"The Persian? No way. He's a loser."

"Jared told Mr. B that Brenn is cheating with 'The Persian'."

Lily laughed. "Mom? No, never. Not with _him_. The cops lie. Especially Jared."

"I'm just telling you what I heard," the assistant explained.

"And I'm telling you that someone is lying."

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

"Solved the mystery yet, Lils?"

"Oh, Wendell." She stared at him. "There wasn't much mystery to be solved. _Everyone _has the same suspicion."

"So you think Mr. B did it?"

"Everyone seems to think he was protecting us."

"And you're not concerned that you were in danger?"

She thought about this for a moment, chewing the inside of her cheek. "Guess not."

"Would you tell Cam and Jared about your dad?"

"And what would _I _gain with Daddy in jail, Mr. Bray?" She shook her head. "Absolutely nothing. In fact, I would lose."

"I would talk to your parents, get your facts straight." He leaned in close to her. "They say your dad smashed his head up against the wall and your mom shot him."

She laughed. "Mom? Ha. I suppose they think _I _had something with it?"

"I've heard talk."

"And that's all it is, Wendell. Talk. I had _nothing _to do with the murder."

"Pinky swear?" She locked pinkies with him and he nodded, satisfied. "I was telling everyone you were too sweet and innocent to hurt someone."

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

"Daddy…" The greeting was singsong, almost a whine.

"Hey, Princess." Seeley Booth leaned back in his chair and his daughter sat on top of his desk, playing with the pens in their cup. "I told you that dress was too short."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever." And then she folded her hands in her lap, assuming a position that meant she was all business. "You killed the man." It wasn't a question. "Did Mom help?"

"Lily, I didn't kill the man."

"Daddy, you don't have to lie to me. _Everyone _knows you were protecting Mom and me." She smiled. "I'm not turning you in or anything. I just want to know what went down."

"Nothing that I know about," her father insisted.

She pouted. "Everyone in this club has done nothing but lie to me."

"I'm sorry, Princess."

She shrugged. "Wendell's always nicer than me." As she left, she said three words that she knew would make her father feel bad and therefore make it more likely for him to give her what she wanted. "Nicer than you."

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

"Jared?" Lily yelled. "It was you? Ugh!" She rolled her eyes. "You were the _cop_. You were supposed to be the _good _guy. You were a halfway decent uncle. And you're working for Max?"

"Not me," Max insisted. "The Gravedigger."

"Max, we all know you're the Gravedigger, so just cut the crap!" She was fuming. "I am so tired of being lied to!"

She turned to Cam. "Take the traitor and your own accusatory self and leave us alone."

Still furious, the girl walked back inside the club.

"Lily?" Wendell asked, catching up to her. "Are you okay?"

"Wendell, you're my best friend, but unless you want to dance, go away."

Smiling, he put a hand on her shoulder and they lost themselves in the music of Motley Crue.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

Sometimes, the only person you can trust is yourself. But, sometimes, that's hard when you don't know who you are. So, you rely on those you love to give you identity. And maybe they don't want you to be who you want to be, and maybe they know better than you do. In the end, who are you? Are you what you made yourself, or were you made by the people around you?

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

A/N: Wow, that was funnn to write… It was super out-of-character because that's how the other characters were on the episode. It was Opposite Lily, who is not shy or polite, who gets what she wants… It was fun to type this and think about all of the things Lily does here that she would never really do. I had a vision of her being very classy- like black dress and red lipstick- for some reason. And, of course, I love Wendell, so he was a main character. =]


	79. Chapter 79

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Day four and I'm still eating hospital cafeteria food, praying that my dad will wake up from his coma. I'm still sitting in an uncomfortable chair next to a hospital bed listening to Brennan type and the heart monitor beat rhythmically. I'm still sleeping at Angela's every night, but definitely not well._

_I keep thinking I see him move, or twitch, or blink, but it's nothing. I keep waking up in the morning with a sigh of relief, thinking this was just a bad dream, until I realize I'm at Angela's and it wasn't a dream. I keep feeling this tightness in my chest, this sinking of my stomach. I keep living through this robotically, just waiting._

_And waiting._

_I hate this with a passion._

_I'm not sure how long I'll be able to do this, how long Brenn will be able to do this, how long any of us can do this. It's taking so much out of Brenn, out of Ange, out of me… And out of Hodgins, who is here for us._

_We're all shaken and confused and scared._

_Once, for two weeks, he let us think he was dead. I cried more in those two weeks than in my entire life. Brenn, although she hid herself in bones, was a different person. Angela, too. Those two weeks were Hell. A Hell we cannot go through again, so soon. Not and make it out the same._

_There's the wondering. We all sit and wonder where it went wrong. Last time, he touched someone, and it went downhill. We can pinpoint the exact moment when it was all messed up. But here? What happened to give him the brain tumor? At what moment did he slip into the coma? There is no psycho woman, no one at all, to blame._

_I think the waiting is the worst part. We have hope to cling to, unlike the time before, but there is also fear. Unlike with his "death", we have no feeling of finality, of closure. The despair is there, but we have to do our best to hold onto diminishing hope. We have fear in addition to the sadness and the emptiness. It's like going down the basement stairs with no lights on._

_When he let us think he was dead, we could immerse ourselves in memories, in work, and try to move on. Here, we twiddle our thumbs, we pace, we sit and watch. We wait._

_He needs to wake up soon, and he needs to be okay!_

L

A/N: I wanted to finish this beastly thing off with a journal entry (Although this is an INCREDIBLY angsty one…), but you all have been begging for more Sweets, so he'll appear in the ender!


	80. Chapter 80

I know you aren't supposed to take whole chapters for author's notes, but I felt that everything I had to say would take away from the actual chapter too much. So I'm breaking the rules. I'm sorry. Please don't sue me.

**I can't believe that Season Four is over and that I have eighty chapters. I want to thank everyone who has stuck with this beastly thing. From the bottom of my heart, **_**Gracias. **_**Special thanks to **_**GryffindorPrincess23, hazellwood, **_**and, of course, **_**Miss Mila. **_

__**Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Those are what kept me going. **

**I hope you all enjoyed this first part of Lily's story. I am continuing into Season Five, and the story thread will be called **_**The Diary of Someone's Daughter**_**. It will be basically the same format, but, hopefully, a little better writing. I'm going to need you all to review and give me ideas and, most of all, love and support. **

**I can't say Thank You enough. Please check for Season Five!**

**¡¡¡Muchas, muchas gracias!!! **


	81. Chapter 81

**A/N: **_**Ay Dios mio. **_**The final season four chapter. I can't believe it. **

Sweets was supposed to be visiting for an update on Booth's condition, but he hadn't been still yet. Then, in a moment of wide-eyed realization, he stopped his pacing momentarily to beckon Lily to him. "You want to talk?"

"No," she said evenly.

"Come on. That's your dad in there."

"I know that, Sweets."

"Lily, I'm your therapist. You must be scared and confused. You need to get your feelings out into the open."

She sighed, shifting from one foot to another. "Sweets, do _you _want to talk about this?"

He paused for a second, and then nodded quickly. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

Lily pointed to some chairs across the room from Angela. "All right, Sweets. How do you feel?"

"Scared. And confused. But mostly scared. Why is this happening?"

She nodded. "So you're very upset about this."

"Of course I am! Agent Booth is my friend!"

Lily's eyes widened. "Friend, huh?"

"Yes. I mean, sure, he isn't very cooperative in therapy, and he makes fun of me a lot, but... Agent Booth is my friend."

She thought about this statement for a moment. "Do you think that maybe this is because you look up to him?"

"I... hadn't considered that." His expression turned from thoughtful to confused. "Wait a minute. When did _you _become the psychologist?"

She shrugged. "When you became the emotionally unstable one."

He pondered that for a minute. "But... how are you so calm... with your dad in a coma?"

She scoffed. "Sweets, I am so totally _not _calm on the inside."

"All the more reason for a psychologist. Lily, talk to me."

She threw up her hands in an exasperated surrender. "What do you want me to say, Sweets? Yeah, I'm freaking _scared _because my dad is in a coma after having _brain surgery_. And I'm wondering why God is doing this right after we found each other. I feel ridiculously _guilty _for hating him. And this all feels like a damn BAD DREAM!"

Sweets listened intently, and put a comforting hand on Lily's shoulder as a tear dripped down her cheek. "Does it feel good to get that out?"

The girl nodded. "Sometimes it... it feels better sitting with him, seeing him... but then I know it's real."

"It _is _real. And I think it's good for you to see him."

I'm sitting at the side of my dad's hospital bed, pencil poised above paper without making contact. The blank page stares up at me coldly, mocking me, reminding me of where I am and why. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor echoes off of the sterile, white walls with the clicking of Brennan's typing.

I watch her hit 'Delete' and realize we are now both staring at blank pages, now facing the unknown in life and on paper.

With that realization comes another—my Dad's eyes are opening, and he is making noises. Brennan is at his side in an instant, but I am frozen in place. I hear their voices before I am on my feet, wide-eyed, with the world moving at a seemingly snail-slow pace.

"It felt so real," Dad whispers.

Brennan is crying as she reassures him. "It was just a dream."

I want to scream that _this _felt like a dream, that _this_ couldn't possibly be real, when Dad speaks again.

"Who are you?"

Oh. My. God.

_Dear Journal/Sweets,_

_Help._

_LCB_


End file.
